Rees to chair Samuel Johnson

Astronomer Royal Martin Rees will chair the judges for the 2013 Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction, with submissions now open for the prize.

Classicist Mary Beard, director of Liberty Sami Chakrabarti, historian Peter Hennessy and writer and non-fiction reviewer James McConnachie will complete the panel.

Rees said: "I'm delighted and honoured to be chairing such a distinguished panel in the year of the fifteenth anniversary of the UK's premier non-fiction prize. This is my 'dream team', bringing together a wealth of expertise, and we're looking forward to reading some brilliant books."

Submissions are now open for the prize, and publishers may enter up to three non-fiction books per imprint with publication dates between 10th November 2012 and 31st December 2013. The deadline for submissions is 28th June 2013.

The winner of the 2013 prize will be announced on 4th November, following the shortlist announcement in October.