Stavrakopoulou wins £2,000 PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize for ‘revelatory’ work God: An Anatomy 

Francesca Stavrakopoulou has been awarded the £2,000 PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize for the best non-fiction book on any historical subject for God: An Anatomy (Picador).

The judging panel, chaired by Professor Olivette Otele, and also comprising author Dr Emma Southon and author and editor Will Rees, said of the book: “Exploring God from head to toe, God: An Anatomy is a revelatory and brilliant examination of the emergence of monotheism written with real verve and vitality.”

They said it challenges the common vision of the Abrahamic God as an incorporeal figure in the sky and that Stavrakopoulou’s “forensic and vivid examination of Yahweh’s origins reveals a ruddy-cheeked, curly-haired and extremely masculine deity”.

Otele, said its “breadth and depth amazed us”, adding that “this outstanding book challenges and enhances our perception of a deity, the Bible and even the representation of masculinity”.

Southon added that it was “not only a magnificent work of paradigm shifting scholarship,” but “also entertaining, rich and full of pleasures. Both a joy to read and to learn from, it is an outstanding work”.

Rees described it as “a monumental achievement, a work of impressive Biblical scholarship that also reveals how, even in societies where God is supposed dead, we continue to live under the shadow cast by his huge – and very physical – corpse”.

Zoe Sadler, events and prizes manager at English PEN, said: “Our heartfelt congratulations to Francesca Stavrakopoulou who has won the 2022 PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize. God: An Anatomy is an extraordinarily rigorous and endlessly curious exploration of a very little discussed (but widely imagined) subject. Congratulations Francesca, and to all our shortlisted authors.”

This year, the judges have also chosen to give an honourable mention to Raphael Cormack for his book Midnight in Cairo: The Female Stars of Egypt’s Roaring ’20s (Saqi Books).

“Midnight in Cairo is a beautiful gem that deserves a special honour,” they said. “It sheds an important light on the role of entertainers and women in particular advancing rights in Cairo in the earliest part of the 20th century.”

Submissions for the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize 2023 are now open. Further details can be found here.