2012 Wellcome Trust Book Prize judging panel announced
The judging panel for the fourth Wellcome Trust Book Prize is announced today. Chairing the panel of judges this year is journalist, broadcaster and author Mark Lawson.
Mark will be joined on the panel by Dr Brooke Magnanti (research scientist, blogger and author); Henry Thomas Marsh (a leading British neurosurgeon and pioneer of neurosurgical advances); Sue Matthias (editor of the 'Financial Times Weekend' magazine); and Ruth Padel (a poet, writer and Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the Zoological Society of London).
The £25,000 Wellcome Trust Book Prize is open to works of fiction and non-fiction based around medicine. It celebrates books that explore ideas relating to this theme and aims to stimulate interest, excitement and debate about medicine and literature, reaching audiences not normally engaged with medical science.
Mark Lawson comments: "As someone who has both loved books and suffered from hypochondria for most of my life, I was thrilled to be asked to judge a distinguished literary prize that brings together these two preoccupations. I look forward - with the 2012 judges for the Wellcome Trust Book Prize - to exploring the fascinating subject of writing about the body and mind in both fiction and non-fiction. This is a unique book prize and the increasingly distinguished entries shows that it has found an important place in the literary prize calendar."
Clare Matterson, Director of Medical Humanities and Engagement at the Wellcome Trust, comments: "The Wellcome Trust Book Prize continues to surprise and delight, with submissions that reflect the extraordinary diversity of writing exploring medical science. Last year, a novel won the Prize for the first time, and we look forward to a provocative and inspiring longlist and shortlist for 2012."
The winner of the 2011 Prize was Alice LaPlante for her debut novel 'Turn of Mind'. The book is written from the perspective of Dr Jennifer White, an eminent former surgeon in the final stages of Alzheimer's who comes under suspicion after the murder of her best friend. It was the first work of fiction to win the Prize.
The winner of the 2009 Prize was 'Keeper' by Andrea Gillies, and 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks' by Rebecca Skloot won the 2010 award.
The winner of the 2012 Wellcome Trust Book Prize will be announced at an awards ceremony in November 2012. Entries for this year have now closed.
To find out more about The Wellcome Trust Book Prize, please visit the Wellcome Trust Book Prize website.
About Mark Lawson
Mark Lawson is a journalist, broadcaster and author. He presents BBC Radio 4's arts magazine programme, 'Front Row', is a columnist for the 'Guardian' and is also the theatre critic of 'The Tablet'.
Mark studied English at University College London and has been a freelance contributor to numerous publications since 1984. In the mid-90s he presented 'The Late Show' on BBC2 and also presented 'The Late Review'. Since 2006, he has hosted a number of in-depth, one-to-one interviews for BBC Four, entitled 'Mark Lawson Talks to'.
Mark has published four works of fiction: 'Bloody Margaret', 'Idlewild', 'Going Out Live' and 'Enough is Enough'. He has written several radio plays for the BBC including 'The Third Soldier Holds His Thighs' and 'The Man Who Had 10,000 Women'. He has also written episodes of the television version of the BBC sitcom 'Absolute Power' and a television play, 'The Vision Thing'.
He has twice been voted TV Critic of the Year and has won numerous awards for arts journalism.
About Dr Brooke Magnanti
Brooke Magnanti is a research scientist, blogger and author. Brooke received a BSc from Florida State University in 1996, where she studied in the Anthropology and Mathematics departments. She later studied for a Master's in Genetic Epidemiology at the University of Sheffield in England and earned a PhD in the Forensic Pathology department there.
She has worked in forensic science, epidemiology, chemoinformatics and cancer research.
Brooke is the author of the bestselling Belle de Jour series of books, which were adapted into the hit ITV show 'Secret Diary of a Call Girl'. She was formerly a columnist for the 'Sunday Telegraph' and 'Erotic Review', as well as contributing pieces to the 'Guardian', 'Big Issue' and 'Town'. Her latest book, 'The Sex Myth', has just been published.
About Henry Thomas Marsh
Henry Thomas Marsh is a leading British neurosurgeon. He is now the senior consultant neurosurgeon at the Atkinson Morley Wing at St George's Hospital, one of the country's largest specialist brain surgery units.
He specialises in operating on the brain under local anaesthetic and was the subject of a major BBC documentary, 'Your Life in Their Hands', which won the Royal Television Society Gold Medal. He has been working with neurosurgeons in the former Soviet Union, mainly in Ukraine with mentee neurosurgeon Igor Petrovich, since 1992; his work there was the subject of the BBC Storyville film 'The English Surgeon'.
About Sue Matthias
Sue Matthias was appointed editor of the 'Financial Times Weekend' magazine in June 2010. She launched the new-look version of the magazine, which was nominated for Supplement of the Year in the British Press Awards 2011. Sue was previously assistant editor of the 'Independent on Sunday'. Some of her other roles include deputy editor of the 'New Statesman' and acting editor of the 'Guardian Weekend' magazine. She is a member of the Advisory Board of Women in Journalism and of the Editorial Advisory Board of the British Journalism Review.
About Ruth Padel
Ruth is a poet, writer and Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the Zoological Society of London. Her awards include first prize in the UK National Poetry Competition, the Cholmondeley Award from The Society of Authors, an Arts Council of England Writers' Award, and a British Council Darwin Now Research Award for her novel, 'Where the Serpent Lives'.
She has published eight poetry collections, a novel and eight works of non-fiction, including several much-loved books on reading poetry. She is also a well-known radio broadcaster and recently presented Poetry Workshop, a landmark BBC 4 series of programmes on writing poems. She is also the great-great-granddaughter of Charles Darwin.
About the Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. It supports the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities. The Trust's breadth of support includes public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. It is independent of both political and commercial interests.