Kadiatu’s book, To Be Young, Gifted and Black: Creativity and Race in the 21st Century has been longlisted for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction. The book, praised as “A lovely and gorgeously written meditation on creativity, raising children,” (Booklist, Starred Review) was published by Oneworld in 2025.
The 16 titles were select by a jury including Chair Thangam Debbonaire, CEO of UK Opera Association, cultural strategist and politician; Roma Agrawal, engineer, author and broadcaster; Nicola Elliott, founder of NEOM Wellbeing; Nina Stibbe, novelist and memoirist, and Nicola Williams, Crown Court judge and thriller author. The £30,000 prize, sponsored by Findmypas, will be announced on 11 June 2026 at the Women’s Prize Trust summer party in London. The winner will also receive a limited-edition artwork known as the ‘Charlotte’ sculpted by Ann Christopher RA FRSS, and both gifted by the Charlotte Aitken Trust.
Thangam Debbonaire said, “The books on this hopeful longlist are rigorous and researched, lyrical and flowing. They are drawn together by the originality and skill with which they have been written. This reading list carries relevance and truth for the future as well as holding significant value for the present day – the books spark curiosity and demand attention; they are for everyone navigating the complicated and unpredictable world we are living in. The voices of these sixteen remarkable women need to be heard – loud and clear.”
Claire Shanahan, Executive Director of the Women’s Prize Trust said, “At the Women’s Prize Trust, the charity behind the Prize, we believe that every woman’s voice has the power to inspire change. Reading and hearing a multiplicity of perspectives, experiences and ideas through non-fiction writing is more vital than ever – it is how we make sense of the world, it’s how we learn from the past, challenge injustice, and imagine new futures. We are grateful to our brilliant judging panel for the care and consideration in their reading and discussions, and we are immensely proud of this year’s longlist: I offer our congratulations to these sixteen exceptional writers whose voices shed light on what it means to be human amidst the wider issues shaping society today.”
