James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Biography · 2023 · Winner
Traces of Enayat
Iman MersalFor its genre-defying investigation of a forgotten Egyptian novelist, blending biography, memoir, and feminist essay.
James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Biography
2023 Winner
Complete History
2020s
About the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Biography
The James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Biography is one of Britain's oldest and most prestigious literary awards, founded in 1919 alongside its companion fiction prize by Janet Coats in memory of publisher James Tait Black. Like the fiction award, it is administered by the University of Edinburgh and judged entirely by academic staff and postgraduate students in the Department of English Literature. The prize celebrates the best biography or work of life-writing published in Britain in the preceding year, interpreted broadly to include memoir, autobiography, and hybrid forms that blur the boundaries between biography and literary nonfiction. Past winners include seminal works such as Antonia Fraser's Mary, Queen of Scots (1969), Claire Tomalin's The Invisible Woman (1990), Hermione Lee's Penelope Fitzgerald: A Life (2013), and more recent experimental works of life-writing that have expanded the genre's possibilities. The prize has been awarded to biographers of figures ranging from Renaissance painters to rock musicians, reflecting its genuinely eclectic scope. Each winner receives £10,000. The prize has occasionally been jointly awarded when judges cannot separate two outstanding works. In 2023, the biography prize was jointly awarded to Iman Mersal's Traces of Enayat (translated by Robin Moger) and Ian Penman's Fassbinder: Thousands of Mirrors, marking the first time a translator received co-recognition with the prize.
Frequently Asked Questions
- The prize is open to biography, memoir, autobiography, and hybrid works of life-writing published in Britain during the preceding year. The judges interpret 'biography' broadly to include formally innovative works.
- It is judged by academic staff and postgraduate students in the University of Edinburgh's Department of English Literature.
- The winner receives £10,000. If jointly awarded, the prize money may be split between two winners.
- Yes. In 2023, the prize was jointly awarded to Iman Mersal's Traces of Enayat (translated by Robin Moger) and Ian Penman's Fassbinder: Thousands of Mirrors — the first time a translator has been co-honoured.
- Unlike the Samuel Johnson Prize or the Baillie Gifford Prize, the James Tait Black Biography Prize is judged by academics rather than trade or celebrity panels, giving it a distinctly scholarly character.
- Winners are typically announced in late spring, a few months after a shortlist is published.
- Yes. Works translated into English and published in Britain are eligible, as demonstrated by the 2023 joint win for Iman Mersal's Traces of Enayat translated by Robin Moger.