2017 Folio Prize to include non-fiction

The Folio Prize is planned to return in 2017, with its remit extended to include non-fiction for the first time.

Members of the Folio Academy, the international group of writers and critics who support the award, have been told of the change to the prize in an email from new prize director Minna Fry.

Fry told academicians that the 2017 Folio Prize was planned to be "the only major literary prize to reward what is genuinely the best book of the year."

She said: "Readers are less and less interested in the distinctions between fiction and non-fiction. What they seem to want is books that enrich and enhance lives, in whatever form they come. When you have to pick your 'book of the year' - and probably you do regularly for all those Christmas round-ups – I don't imagine you think in categories. And if anyone asks you which book they absolutely must take on holiday or give for Christmas, you probably think of the book that has made you see the world in a different way, or taught you things you never knew, or just made you marvel at the brilliant creative expression of a fellow writer. In the end all that really matters is that a book should be wholly realised, be it real or imaginary. The distinction doesn't matter to readers. So why should it matter to our prize?"

The Folio's new, broader remit will mark it out from other prizes such as the Man Booker, Baileys and Baillie Gifford, Fry said.

Initial response from Academy members to the plans to extend the remit of the prize have been very positive, Fry told The Bookseller. They include such responses, anonymised, as: "I absolutely love the idea of Book of the Year without separating fiction/nonfiction. we need that urgently!" "The idea of a prize that ignores arbitrary categories will I think be very attractive to and more pertinent to readers. Count me in and use me in any way you see fit." "I think a prize for ONE book is a fabulous idea, just fabulous and the perfect solution to the development of this prize.""This all sounds excellent to me. I think you're right on the fiction/non-fiction split. It's starting to seem meaningless. Good to recognise that."

Plans are being made for the prize to be awarded in 2017, with sponsorship packages still being finalised, The Bookseller understands. There are also plans for the award to get year-round promotion through events held in conjunction with the British Library and other partners, and media coverage, with Academy members encouraged to take an active role.

The Folio Prize, first awarded in 2014, was suspended this year after coming to the end of its two-year sponsorship by The Folio Society.

When launched, the Folio was the only big UK literary prize open to English-language books by authors of any nationality.  However the Man Booker expanded its own eligibility criteria not long afterwards.

The Folio Prize Academy is an international group of writers and critics who select titles to be considered for the prize shortlist. Each year the prize judges are chosen from among the Academy members. The Folio is currently in the process of inviting more members, particularly from non-fiction, Fry told The Bookseller.

Fry was appointed director of development at the Folio Prize in July.