Youngest author in award's history shortlisted for £25k Royal Society Science Book Prize

Nicklas Brendborg, Kate Zernike and Ed Yong are among the six authors shortlisted for the £25,000 Royal Society Science Book Prize. Sponsored by the Trivedi Family Foundation, the prize celebrates popular science writing from across the globe.

This year’s list was selected from 255 submissions published between 1st July 2022 and 30th September 2023. It features the youngest shortlisted author in the prize’s history, molecular biology PhD student and debut author Brendborg, who is 28 years old.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Yong, who is being recognised for the second time, is joined by fellow Pulitzer Prize recipient, New York Times reporter Zernike. Engineer of The Shard, Roma Agrawal, and writer, birdwatcher and conductor Lev Parikian are also featured on the list, as is David Quammen, a journalist and the author of 16 books.

Professor Alain Goriely FRS, chair of the 2023 judges, said: “The submissions for this year’s Royal Society Science Book Prize have been exceptionally impressive, showcasing both the breadth and depth across the spheres of science, technology, and society...The quality and diversity of the books that have made it to our shortlist demonstrate that popular science has come to maturity as a literary genre and highlight its significance in contemporary discourse. 

"The shortlisted books offer a fascinating array of topics, ranging from the intricate beauty of the animal kingdom to the fascinating intricacies of nuts and bolts. They also delve into pressing issues such as diversity in science and the complex relationship between science and governmental policy in the last pandemic."

Author Bonnie Garmus, whose bestselling debut novel Lessons in Chemistry (Penguin) has a TV adaptation launching this autumn, is also on this year’s judging panel, alongside neuroscientist and Royal Society University Research Fellow Rebecca Henry. Actor and author Paterson Joseph is also a judge this year, as is the Daily Telegraph’s arts and entertainment editor, Anita Singh.

The winner of the prize will be revealed at a ceremony on 22nd November 2023, and each of the five shortlisted authors will be awarded £2,500. Last year’s winner was Henry Gee for A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth (Picador).  

The shortlist in full: 

• Nuts and Bolts: Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World (in a Big Way) by Roma Agrawal (Hodder & Stoughton)
• Jellyfish Age Backwards: Nature’s Secrets to Longevity by Nicklas Brendborg, translated by Elizabeth de Noma (Hodder & Stoughton)
• Taking Flight: The Evolutionary Story of Life on the Wing by Lev Parikian (Elliott & Thompson)
• Breathless: The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus by David Quammen (The Bodley Head)
• An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong (The Bodley Head)
• The Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins and the Fight for Women in Science by Kate Zernike (Simon & Schuster)