We're thrilled to announce the 2026 #WolfsonHistoryPrize shortlist, showcasing six exceptional books that explore how societies navigate periods of seismic change. 📕'The Boundless Deep: Young Tennyson, Science and the Crisis of Belief' by Richard Holmes (@wmcollinsbooks) 📕 'Vanished: An Unnatural History of Extinction' by Sadiah Qureshi (@AllenLaneBooks) 📕 'Summer of Fire and Blood: The German Peasants’ War' by Lyndal Roper (@BasicBooksUK) 📕'Liverpool: A Story of Britain' by @samwetherell (@HoZ_Books) 📕'The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of History' by @lswisnom (@AllenLaneBooks) 📕'Silence of the Gods: The Untold History of Europe's Last Pagan Peoples' by @drfrancisyoung (@cambridgeup) Congratulations to all the authors! 👏📚 wolfsonhistoryprize.org.uk/p…

To round off our #ShortlistSpotlight series, we introduce @drfrancisyoung and 'Silence of the Gods: The Untold History of Europe's Last Pagan Peoples' shortlisted for the 2026 #WolfsonHistoryPrize. Congratulations to Francis Young and @cambridgeup 🎊

Every historian has a shelf of favourites. Discover the books that have inspired @lswisnom, from a biography of Rome's most extraordinary woman to the Middle Ages' answer to self-help. Browse her selection on our @bookshop_org_UK page ⬇️📚 uk.bookshop.org/lists/selena… 📕 'Gilgamesh' by Sophus Helle 📕 'The Poison King' by Adrienne Mayor 📕 'Agrippina' by Emma Southon 📕 'Alaric the Goth' by Douglas Boin 📕 'Persian Fire' by Tom Holland 📕 'Self Help from the Middle Ages' by Peter Jones 📕 'The Mesopotamian Riddle' by Joshua Hammer

What makes history special? We invited this year’s Wolfson History Prize shortlisted authors to share the perspectives that shaped their books. Learn more about @lswisnom and ‘The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of History’ in our interview below. @AllenLaneBooks ⬇️ wolfsonhistoryprize.org.uk/a…

"The library has become a kiln [...] setting their words almost as if in stone" Hear ‘The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of History’ by @lswisnom for yourself. Read the full extract on our website and find out why it's on this year's #WolfsonHistoryPrize shortlist. @AllenLaneBooks ⬇️🎧 wolfsonhistoryprize.org.uk/p…

"Wisnom's book offers a thrilling panorama of ancient Mesopotamian society" Discover why ‘The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of History’ by @lswisnom stood out to the #WolfsonHistoryPrize panel. @AllenLaneBooks 📜

This week, our #ShortlistSpotlight turns to @lswisnom and ‘The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of History’, shortlisted for the 2026 #WolfsonHistoryPrize. For Selena, research goes beyond the pursuit of knowledge, extending into the re-creation of worlds now unfamiliar to us. Her panoramic view brings ancient Mesopotamian systems and culture vividly back to life. Congratulations to Selena Wisnom and @AllenLaneBooks 🎊

From electricity's transformation of modern life to a thought-provoking collection of essays exploring the alternative worlds imagined by anti-colonial thinkers, these are the history books that have inspired @samwetherell. Browse his selection on our @bookshop_org_UK page ⬇️📚 uk.bookshop.org/lists/sam-we… 📕 'Nature’s Metropolis' by William Cronon 📕 'Black Reconstruction in America' by W. E. B. Du Bois 📕 'Fin-de-Siecle Vienna' by Carl E. Schorske 📕 'Disenchanted Night' by Wolfgang Schivelbusch 📕 'Golden Gulag' by Ruth Wilson Gilmore 📕 'Worldmaking after Empire' by Adom Getachew 📕 'The Mushroom at the End of the World' by Anna Tsing 📕 'Empire of Guns' by Priya Satia 📕 'Impossible Engineering' by Chandra Mukerji

What lessons can history teach us about the future? We spoke with this year’s Wolfson History Prize shortlisted authors about the journeys that brought their subjects to life. Get to know @samwetherell and the shortlisted book that put him in the running for this year’s #WolfsonHistoryPrize in our Q&A linked below. @HoZ_Books ⬇️ wolfsonhistoryprize.org.uk/q…

"One of the tasks of the historian is to comb through the historical darkness in search of the connecting threads between then and now." Listen to an extract from Liverpool: A Story of Britain by @samwetherell, then visit our website to discover why it was shortlisted for the #WolfsonHistoryPrize. @HoZ_Books ⬇️🎧 wolfsonhistoryprize.org.uk/p…

"Humane, distressing, and yet curiously optimistic" In the words of the #WolfsonHistoryPrize judges: what makes 'Liverpool: A Story of Britain' by @samwetherell an outstanding work of history. @HoZ_Books 🏢

We were saddened to hear of the death of Chris Wickham. Winner of the Wolfson History Prize in 2006 for Framing the Early Middle Ages: Europe and the Mediterranean, 400-800; his research transformed our understanding of the period. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, colleagues, and students.

Our #ShortlistSpotlight series continues with 'Liverpool: A Story of Britain' by @samwetherell, another remarkable work shortlisted for the 2026 #WolfsonHistoryPrize. For Sam Wetherell, his research not only analyses Liverpool's past but also projects what the future may hold for the UK at large. Congratulations to Sam Wetherell and @HoZ_Books 🎊

Which history books have shaped Lyndal Roper's thinking? From astronomy and witchcraft to 16th-century millers, explore the works that have inspired her. 📕 'The Burning Earth' by Sunil Amrith 📕 'The Astronomer and the Witch' by Ulinka Rublack 📕 'Guru to the World' by Ruth Harris 📕 'The Return of Martin Guerre' by Natalie Zemon Davis 📕 'The Cheese and the Worms' by Carlo Ginzbur 📕 'Burn This Letter' by Susan Pedersen 📕 'Red, Red Robin' by Alison Light Browse her selection on our @bookshop_org_uk page 📚 uk.bookshop.org/lists/lyndal…

We asked this year’s Wolfson History Prize shortlisted authors to invite us into their research. In this definitive history of the German Peasants' War, Lyndal Roper uncovers the voices, experiences and beliefs of the people fighting for a new world order. Learn more about Lyndal Roper and ‘Summer of Fire and Blood: The German Peasants’ War’ in our Q&A below. @BasicBooksUK ⬇️ wolfsonhistoryprize.org.uk/q…

"Peasants massed in armed bands in one region, then another, and rebellion would break out even in areas far away. " Step inside the story. Listen to Lyndal Roper read an exclusive extract from ‘Summer of Fire and Blood: The German Peasants’ War’, one of this year's most talked-about history books. @BasicBooksUK 🎧 Read the full extract on our website. ⬇️ wolfsonhistoryprize.org.uk/p…

"Roper radically retells early modern Europe's largest popular uprising" Discover why the #WolfsonHistoryPrize judges found ‘Summer of Fire and Blood: The German Peasants’ War’ such a compelling work of history. @BasicBooksUK 📖

This week's #ShortlistSpotlight series for the 2026 #WolfsonHistoryPrize focuses on Lyndal Roper and her book 'Summer of Fire and Blood'. While researching this radical history, Lyndal visited every place involved in the German peasants' revolt, cycling over 600km. The landscape would become a key actor in her book. Congratulations to Lyndal Roper and @BasicBooksUK 🎊

From a retelling of American history to a trailblazing account of the South Asian presence in Britain, discover the historical non-fiction books that have inspired Sadiah Qureshi. 📕 'The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History' by Ned Blackhawk 📕'The Burning Earth' by @sunilamrith 📕'Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Route' by Saidiya Hartman 📕 'All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake' by Tiya Miles 📕'Asians in Britain: 400 Years of History' by Rozina Visram 📕'Imperial Footprints: A History of South Asian Child Migrants in Britain' by Sumita Mukherjee Browse her selection on our @bookshop_org_uk page📚 uk.bookshop.org/lists/sadiah…

Six shortlisted books. One winner. After being selected from more than 140 titles published in 2025, six outstanding works of history remain in the running for the #WolfsonHistoryPrize 2026. In just two months, we'll reveal which book will join the illustrious list of Wolfson History Prize winners. Stay tuned for the countdown. ⏰📖