Internet, AI studies among Women’s Nonfiction Prize finalists
LONDON, March 28, (AP): Books about the dizzying impact of the internet and artificial intelligence are among finalists for a new book prize that aims to help fix the gender imbalance in nonfiction publishing.
The shortlisted six books for the inaugural Women’s Prize for Nonfiction, announced on Wednesday, include Canadian author-activist Naomi Klein’s “Doppleganger,” a plunge into online misinformation, and British journalist Madhumita Murgia’s “Code-Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI.”
The 30,000 pound ($38,000) award is a sister to the 29-year-old Women’s Prize for Fiction and is open to female English-language writers from any country in any nonfiction genre.
The finalists also include autobiographical works - poet Safiya Sinclair’s “How to Say Babylon: A Jamaican Memoir” and British art critic Laura Cumming’s “Thunderclap: A Memoir of Art and Life and Sudden Death.”
Rounding out the list are British author Noreen Masud’s traveloguememoir “A Flat Place,” and Harvard history professor Tiya Miles’ “All That She Carried,” a history of American enslavement told through one Black family’s keepsake.
British historian Suzannah Lipscomb, who is chairing the judging panel, said that “the readers of these books will never see the world - be it through art, history, landscape, politics, religion or technology - the same again.”
The winners of both nonfiction and fiction prizes will be announced at a ceremony in London on June 13.
The prize was set up in response to a gender imbalance in the book world, where men buy more nonfiction than women - and write more prize-wining nonfiction books
The company Nielsen Book Research found in 2019 that while women bought 59% of all the books sold in the United Kingdom, men accounted for just over half of adult nonfiction purchases.
Prize organizers say that in 2022, only 26.5% of nonfiction books reviewed in Britain’s newspapers were by women, and male writers dominated established nonfiction writing prizes.
Jill Biden ❑ ❑ ❑
has written a children’s picture book about her White House cat, Willow, that will be published in June.
Simon & Schuster announced Wednesday that “Willow the White House Cat” tells the story of how the short-haired tabby ended up at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Aides previously had said the cat impressed Jill Biden after it jumped on stage as she spoke at a Pennsylvania farm during the 2020 presidential campaign. Biden later adopted the cat and named it after her hometown of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.
“As Willow bounds from room to room, exploring history in her new home, she learns quickly about all of the incredible people who make the ‘People’s House’ run,” the first lady said in the publisher’s announcement. “They welcomed Willow with love and care, just as
Joe
they did and me, the First Families who came before us, and all of the people who step foot into this home.
“Making many new friends along the way, Willow’s journey gives the world a ‘cats-eye’ view of all the ins and outs of America’s most famous address,” she said.
Willow, now 4 years old, is the only Biden pet still living at the White House. They have had three German shepherd dogs. Champ died in 2021, and Major and later Commander were sent away after exhibiting aggressive behavior, including biting Secret Service personnel and members of the White House staff.
Presidential pets are an enduring source of public fascination and often the subject of books. dog, Millie, “opined” on her White House life in “Millie’s Book,” and first lady
wrote a book about the letters that were sent to her family pets, cat Socks and dog Buddy. Books have also been written about President white-chested Portuguese water dog, Bo.
“Willow the White House Cat” will be published by Paula Wiseman Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. It was co-written with award-winning author and illustrated by acclaimed artist Jill Biden will donate proceeds from sales of the book to charities that support military dogs.
The first lady’s previous children’s titles are “Don’t Forget, God Bless Our Troops” and “Joey: The Story of Joe Biden.” She published her memoir, “Where the Light Enters,” in 2019.