We’re back with a brand new series of the Read Smart podcast! In this episode, Prize Executive Director Toby Mundy speaks with Author Frances Wilson, shortlisted for the 2025 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction with her new book Electric Spark: The Enigma of Muriel Spark.
Frances Wilson unravels the life of Muriel Spark - novelist, poet, Catholic convert and master of literary mischief, whose life often echoed the plots of her fiction. From wartime propaganda and blackmail to creative reinvention, this conversation explores Spark’s uncanny connection between art and experience.
Listen now to hear all about it. This podcast is generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. To keep up with all of our Prize news year-round, follow @BGPrize on Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube.
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We’re back with a brand new series of the Read Smart podcast! In this episode, Prize Executive Director Toby Mundy speaks with Author Frances Wilson, shortlisted for the 2025 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction with her new book Electric Spark: The Enigma of Muriel Spark.
Frances Wilson unravels the life of Muriel Spark - novelist, poet, Catholic convert and master of literary mischief, whose life often echoed the plots of her fiction. From wartime propaganda and blackmail to creative reinvention, this conversation explores Spark’s uncanny connection between art and experience.
Listen now to hear all about it. This podcast is generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. To keep up with all of our Prize news year-round, follow @BGPrize on Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube.
Tune into the latest episode of The Read Smart Podcast, where host Georgina Godwin is joined by Heather Brooke, a member of this year's judging panel, to discuss the 2024 shortlist. Why did these six books stand out from the rest of the longlist? Listen now to hear all about it.
The 2024 shortlist:
- The Story of a Heart by Rachel Clarke
- Question 7 by Richard Flanagan
- Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen
- A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial by Viet Thanh Nguyen
- Wild Thing: A Life of Paul Gauguin by Sue Prideaux
- Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World by David Van Reybrouck (translated by David Colmer and David McKay
The podcast is generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. Be sure to follow @BGPrize on Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube.
If you’re interested in learning more about the books on the shortlist, then join us on the podcast in the run up to the winner announcement. We will be speaking to each of the shortlisted authors about their work and what inspired them to write on their chosen topics. Also be sure to join us on our social media channels where you we’ll be sharing other author interviews, including readings by the writers themselves.
The winner will be announced on Tuesday 19 November at an award ceremony generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. The announcement will also be livestreamed across the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction social channels.
Baillie Gifford Prize
We’re back with a brand new series of the Read Smart podcast! In this episode, Prize Executive Director Toby Mundy speaks with Author Frances Wilson, shortlisted for the 2025 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction with her new book Electric Spark: The Enigma of Muriel Spark.
Frances Wilson unravels the life of Muriel Spark - novelist, poet, Catholic convert and master of literary mischief, whose life often echoed the plots of her fiction. From wartime propaganda and blackmail to creative reinvention, this conversation explores Spark’s uncanny connection between art and experience.
Listen now to hear all about it. This podcast is generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. To keep up with all of our Prize news year-round, follow @BGPrize on Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube.