Alexander Biography Wins Baillie Gifford Prize

Edmund Richardson’s biography Alexander: God, King, Man won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction on Wednesday, 4 November 2026. The £50,000 award, worth approximately US$67,000, was presented at a ceremony in London.

The winning biography

Richardson, a professor of classics at Durham University, spent more than a decade researching Alexander the Great’s life and translated sources from 12 ancient languages. Chair of the judging panel Kirsty Lang described the book as “immersive” and said it “reads like a novel”; she also praised its new research and archaeological discoveries.

The book was the first work of ancient history to win the prize since it was established in 1999. It was selected from more than 350 entries and beat five other shortlisted books: Patrick Radden Keefe’s London Falling, Nicholas Boggs’s Baldwin: A Love Story, Matthew Sweet’s The Great Dictator, Anand Gopal’s Days of Love and Rage and Andrea Wulf’s The Traveler.

Important Facts for Exams

• Eligibility: The Baillie Gifford Prize accepts authors of any nationality, provided their work is published in English in the UK.
• Annual judging panel: An independent panel selects the longlist, shortlist and winner, and its membership changes each year.
• Governance: The prize is governed by a board of directors overseeing a not-for-profit company.