Politics on the Edge: A Memoir from Within

In a shortlist dominated by well-known names, Rory Stewart triumphed with his "honest, candid, dark and funny" memoir, Politics on the Edge. In a falling market for politics books, our panel agreed that this "breaks the mould of politics publishing". Not only did our judges commend the "captivating" quality of writing; they also thought that "in very troubling times, Politics on the Edge asks some very important questions".

The "striking" photographic cover helped push Stewart’s title beyond a political readership and Jonathan Cape constructed an "impressive", egalitarian campaign, securing a host of television interviews and leveraging Stewart’s podcast audience to make this memoir the narrative book of the year. Our panel agreed that Politics on the Edge "ticked all the boxes" and they admired both the memoir and the author’s desire to instigate political change.