Women's Prize for Non-Fiction
The 2026 Judges
“Reading and writing are hugely important tools for action – two of the best ways of developing and exploring ideas thoroughly. The Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction is a powerful platform for women’s expertise and the voices we so desperately need, and I am honoured to be chair of judges for the 2026 Prize.” – Thangam Debbonaire, chair of the 2026 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction
A panel of five women – all passionate readers and at the top of their respective professions – choose the winner of the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction.
The 2026 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction is chaired by member of the House of Lords and former Labour MP, Baroness Thangam Debbonaire. Joining Thangam on the non-fiction judging panel is Roma Agrawal, engineer, author and broadcaster, Nicola Elliott, founder of NEOM Wellbeing, Nina Stibbe, novelist and memorist, and Nicola Williams, Crown Court judge and thriller author.
Thangam Debbonaire is a Labour Member of the House of Lords. She runs Red Frock Ltd., assisting mainly arts and culture organisations with strategy and stakeholder engagement. Red Frock’s recent clients include Southbank Centre, the Opera network UK and The Art Fund. Thangam’s current work includes arts policy, international cultural partnerships and diplomacy, copyright and AI. She was on the judging panel of the 2025 Orwell Prize for political non-fiction, chairs Labour Women’s Network, co-chairs the Parthenon Project, sits on the boards of Sadler’s Wells and LabourList and is an advisor to UK AI. Whilst MP for Bristol West (2015–2024) she served in the Shadow Cabinet, most recently as Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and developed Labour’s manifesto commitments for this department. Before Parliament, Thangam worked for 25 years on practice, research and policy development in protection from and prevention of violence against women and girls, nationally and internationally.
Roma Agrawal MBE is an engineer, author and broadcaster who is best known for working on the design of The Shard, Western Europe’s tallest tower. Roma has given talks to tens of thousands at universities, schools and organisations around the world, including TEDx. She has also presented numerous TV, radio and podcast shows for the BBC, Channel 4 and Discovery. Her first book, Built (2018) has won multiple awards, and she published an extremely successful children’s version, How Was That Built? in 2021. Her third book, Nuts & Bolts was published in 2023, and was shortlisted for the prestigious Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize, followed by a children’s version: Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World. Roma has been learning various dance forms since she was six, practices yoga and lifts weights, is an avid knitter and crocheter, and has even dabbled in stand-up comedy.
Nicola Elliott is the founder of NEOM Wellbeing, a British wellbeing brand which harnesses the powers of 100% natural essential oils to help boost your wellbeing. After spending seven hectic years working as a journalist in London, Nicola felt the effects of a fast-paced life – poor sleep, increased stress and low energy and mood. It was this that kickstarted her own wellbeing journey and in 2005, NEOM Wellbeing was born. With an ethos of ‘small steps, big difference’, NEOM Wellbeing is all about the little things we can do throughout our day to help have a big impact on the four main pillars of wellbeing: better sleep, less stress, more energy and a lifted mood. Since then, NEOM Wellbeing’s product line has grown to now include an impressive collection of home and body fragrance products, all with an aim to have something for every mood and moment in your day.
Nina Stibbe is the author of seven books. Her debut – Love, Nina – won Non-Fiction Book of the Year Award at the National Book Awards 2014, was shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year, and adapted for BBC television. Her novels Man at the Helm (2014), Paradise Lodge (2016), and One Day I Shall Astonish The World (2022) were shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction, with her third – Reasons to be Cheerful (2019) – winning this award, alongside the Comedy Women in Print Prize for comic fiction. Her collection of stories and articles, An Almost Perfect Christmas (2017), was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 over Christmas 2020. Her latest book Went to London, Took the Dog – a diary – was published in 2023.
Nicola Williams started her career as a barrister in private practice, specialising in Criminal Law. On leaving private practice she held four senior Ombudsman roles both in the UK and abroad, including as Service Complaints Ombudsman for HM Armed Forces when she was the most senior Black person in UK Defence, and as the Complaints Commissioner for the Cayman Islands. Nicola was a member of the first Independent Advisory Group to the Metropolitan Police Service following the publication of the Stephen Lawrence Report and has been a part-time Crown Court Judge since 2010. She is the author of three legal thrillers. Without Prejudice (1997) was selected for the Black Britain: Writing Back series by Bernardine Evaristo and Until Proven Innocent was the winner of the Diverse Book Awards Readers Choice Award 2024. Her third novel, Killer Instinct, was published in July 2025.
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