The Baillie Gifford Prize for nonfiction was awarded to Richard Flanagan‘s Question 7. In a pre-recorded acceptance speech (Flanagan is on a trek in the Tasmanian rainforest), the Australian author refused the £50,000 prize money until the Baillie Gifford board shares a plan for reducing its investment in fossil fuels and increasing its investment in renewable resources. He said he’d like to sit down with the board and “describe how fossil fuels are destroying our country.” Earlier this year, an organization called Fossil Free Books also protested the prize, which resulted in the termination of partnerships with nine literary festivals.
Flanagan is the first author to win both the Baillie Gifford and Booker prizes.
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