Winner of the 2010 Book Prize announced!

Date posted: 20 May 10

Bristol Festival of Ideas today announces the winner of its annual book prize. The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett beat five other books to secure the £10,000 prize, awarded annually to the book which presents new, important and challenging ideas, and which is engaging, accessible and rigorously argued.

	Click here to read reviews of The Spirit Level by Bristol Festival of Ideas fans.

Over 130 books were submitted for the award. The Spirit Level was one of six books on the shortlist. The others were: A Face to the World (by Laura Cumming), When China Rules the World: The Rise of the Middle Kingdom and the End of the Western World (by Martin Jacques), The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World (by Iain McGhilcrist), Dead Aid (by Dambisa Moyo), and The Idea of Justice (by Amartya Sen).

Andrew Kelly, Director of the Bristol Festival of Ideas and chair of the judging panel, commented:

“Our annual book prize is always an exhilarating process. Reading over 100 books submitted may sound tiring, but the energy of the ideas presented is always a pleasure. All the shortlisted books are worthy winners of the award and it was a challenging decision for the judges to make.”

Andrew Kelly added:

“The Spirit Level stood out because it was a new idea based on many decades of research. Successive governments have failed to tackle inequality. Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett presented their case with great knowledge and in an accessible way. It has already had considerable impact. It deserves to be key to future policy making.”

The prize is awarded in association with Arts & Business. The 2011 prize will be announced in May 2011. The competition is open for submissions now.

Links

Click here to read reviews of The Spirit Level by Bristol Festival of Ideas fans.

Click here to read more about the Book Prize.