Irenosen Okojie MBE, chair of judges, said: “This is a marvellous, galvanising shortlist. He is the author of two poetry collections, Tongues of Fire and Rapture’s Road, and a memoir, All Down Darkness Wide. He has received the Laurel Prize and the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature and been shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award. The prize, set up in memory of the statesman and author Alfred Duff Cooper, celebrates the best non-fiction published in the United Kingdom. The National Library of Ireland, the National Library of Scotland, the National Library of Wales and the British Library safeguard the printed and recorded heritage of our nations.

Source: The Irish Times March 20, 2026 14:21 UTC