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Shema Tariq and Yemisi Bokinni to take part in the Wellcome Collection Non-Fiction Awards programme
Shema Tariq, Yemisi Bokinni and Ammad Butt are among the six writers selected to take part in the Wellcome Collection Non-Fiction Awards development programme, which includes a £2,000 bursary.
The awardees are working on books on "health and being human", and will be taking part in a nine-month programme to develop their ideas into a full-length proposal and sample chapters. As part of the programme –which is run by the literature development agency Spread the Word and the Wellcome Collection – they will receive mentoring, masterclasses and the opportunity to be published by the Wellcome Collection, as well as a travel and access fund.
Tariq has been selected to take part in the programme for her project Speculum: A History of Women’s Bodies Through One Object, alongside Bokinni, who is developing a project about "the race to uncover life-saving medicines in nature". They will be joined by Butt, who is working on a book about migration and the NHS, and Jordan Whitewood-Neal, who has been offered a place for his book on Disability, Space, and Citizenship. The final two writers on the programme will be Lindsey Allen, who writes about disability and the environment, and Ricky Nathvani, whose project is called Street Life: The Science of Health Outside Your Front Door.
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The 2025 programme will conclude on 12th November with an event where the writers will present their work to agents and publishers.
"We were so impressed by the quality and breadth of ideas submitted to this year’s awards," said Fran Barrie, publisher at Wellcome Collection. "Our fantastic final six all have something urgent to say to shift the narrative around health. We’re excited to collaborate with them all, and to support them to develop their projects into full-blown book proposals over the coming months."
Ruth Harrison, director of Spread the Word, added: "We’re delighted to support these six exceptional writers and continue our partnership with Wellcome Collection following a successful pilot in 2022, which has resulted in three book deals with more announcements to come."
A public programme of masterclasses and panel events will also offer a wider range of support to aspiring non-fiction writers, with the first event comprising an online Q&A session with science journalist and author Angela Saini, held on 30th April.
