Jesse Norman, Lord Daniel Finkelstein and Matt Chorley win at Parliamentary Book Awards

Jesse Norman’s The Winding Stair (Biteback Publishing), Lord Daniel Finkelstein OBE’s Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad (William Collins) and Matt Chorley’s Planes, Trains and Toilet Doors (William Collins) have been announced as the best political books of the year at the Parliamentary Book Awards tonight (6th February), at the Houses of Parliament.

Now in their eighth year, the Parliamentary Book Awards were established by the Booksellers Association and the Publishers Association to "champion the best political writing in the UK", and to recognise the link between politics and publishing. 

Conservative MP Norman won in the Best Non-Fiction/Fiction by a Parliamentarian category for The Winding Stair, a novel that "tells the story of two founders from our modern world and their battle for power, pre-eminence and the hand of the most eligible women in the realm". Meanwhile, journalist and politician Finkelstein won Best Memoir/Autobiography by a Parliamentarian for Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad, which documents his parents’ persecution, and their fight for survival.

Times Radio broadcaster and journalist Chorley won Best Political Book by a Non-Parliamentarian, for his book Planes, Trains and Toilet Doors which shares knowledge, analysis and research into how politics "actually happens".

The runners-up include politicians, journalists and writers such as Rory Stewart OBE, Chris Bryant MP, Wes Streeting MP, Dawn Butler MP and Alastair Campbell, as well as Philippa Gregory CBE, Polly Toynbee, Robert Peston and Kishan Koria.

Meryl Halls, managing director of the Booksellers Association (BA), said: “We’re delighted to see such a phenomenal range of books winning these prestigious awards. Topics covered by the winning titles include the battle for power, personal experiences during the Second World War, and insider knowledge about how politics actually happens. Big congratulations to both the winning and the shortlisted writers for their insightful and exceptional books.”

Dan Conway, c.e.o. of the Publishers Association (PA), added: "Congratulations to this year’s well-deserved winners. These books show the extent of the quality political writing we have here in the UK—a genre which will only become more pertinent as we settle into an election year. We were delighted to welcome parliamentarians, authors, publishers and booksellers to the Houses of Parliament to celebrate these important works and the long-standing link between publishing and politics”.