Professor Liz David-Barrett wins The Ideas Prize for non-fiction

The Ideas Prize for non-fiction has been awarded to professor Liz David-Barrett for her proposal Power Grab: Opportunists, Populists and the Changing World Order.

David-Barrett is the fourth winner of The Ideas Prize, which awards a £25,000 publishing deal with Profile Books and representation by Aitken Alexander Associates. The prize is run by Izzy Everington, editorial director at Profile Books, and Chris Wellbelove, director and head of books at Aitken Alexander.

David-Barrett is director of the Centre for the Study of Corruption at the University of Sussex, where she leads the centre’s research, teaching and policy impact. As deputy director of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office-funded Governance and Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence Programme, she also collaborates with other academics researching corruption and has advised several governments and international organisations on anti-corruption policies, as well as being a member of the Board of Transparency International UK.

Her winning proposal, Power Grab: Opportunists, Populists and the Changing World Order, is an eye-witness account of the rise of grand corruption and the future of democracy. Drawing on her work with governments, the private sector and non-governmental organisations, the author explores the emergence of state capture and what can be done to prevent it.

David-Barrett said: "I’ve been reporting, analysing and tackling corruption for more than 20 years, during which time the assumption has been that democratic institutions offer the path to progress. But democracy is being hijacked by opportunists even in the West. They shamelessly break and rig rules to gain power, steal assets and avoid prosecution. I think it’s important to tell that story."

Everington and Wellbelove added: "We are so excited to work with Liz on Power Grab. A hugely impactful insight into the grand scale of corruption and the resulting state capture, this is an urgent political read that makes sense of the global state of democracy in our age."

Profile Books will publish Power Grab in spring of 2027.

Entries for the prize’s 2025 edition are now open to academics or PhD-holders who have never published a trade book before. Writers are invited to submit a 3,000 to 4,000-word pitch for their trade debut to ideasprize@profilebooks.com by 31st May 2025.