Fiammetta Rocco to chair Baillie Gifford Prize judges

Fiammetta Rocco, culture correspondent at the Economist, culture editor at magazine 1843 and administrator of the Man Booker International Prize, will be chairing the judges of the 2018 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. 

Rocco called it "an honour" viewing the Baillie Gifford Prize as "the Nobel of non-fiction". She will be joined by four further judges, yet to be announced.

"Being asked to chair the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction is a unique opportunity to read the finest authors writing today," said Rocco. "It is an honour, and a challenge too. Nothing compares with the Baillie Gifford. It's the Nobel of non-fiction."

Rewarding "the very best in high quality non-fiction", the prize is open to books in the areas of current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography, autobiography and the arts. Authors of any nationality are eligible, so long as their work is published in the UK in English in any given year.

David France won the 2017 prize for his account of the "plague" years of the AIDS epidemic, How to Survive a Plague (Picador).

The 2018 prize will open for submissions in the spring. Its winner is due to be announced on 14th November at a dinner supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation, following the shortlist announcement in October.