Worth £10,000, this new literary award recognises non-fiction writers in the earlier stages of their careers as authors, whose work is considered to have made a significant contribution to the world. Made possible following a donation from the Unwin Charitable Trust and administered by the Publishers Association, the Unwin Award is intended to champion and showcase the value of the UK publishing industry to the world, and rewards an author for their overall body of work.
Caroline Criado Perez – the author of two works of non-fiction: Invisible Women (2019) The Sunday Times No I bestseller and Do It Like a Woman was revealed as the winner during a ceremony held at The Royal Institution, London.
The Unwin Award Judging Panel 2025 praised this political, passionate, and persuasive author’s scope of research, use of statistics, and sharing of personal insights – as well as her undeniable tireless fervour in pursuit of illuminating the truth, and her pure skill and strength as writer. The panel recognised the countless and clear global impacts of Caroline Criado Perez’s work in influencing policy, research, news commentary and conversation, alongside the astonishing afterlife of her books that continue to resonate with readers around the work long after publication.
Caroline Criado Perez, winner of the inaugural Unwin Award 2025, said: “I wrote Invisible Women because I wanted people to see the world as I saw it; to recognise the damage that we do when we render 50% of the global population invisible; and to be inspired to make a difference. I wrote because I wanted things to change — and so I’m honoured and delighted to receive this award, which recognises the power of books and publishing to do exactly that.”
Professor Shahidha Bari, Chair of The Unwin Award 2025 Judging Panel, commented: “The impact of Caroline Criado Perez’s work is phenomenal – irrefutably evidenced in the torrent of recommendations and endorsements from an astonishing array of sources. The Unwin Award is given to Criado Perez in acknowledgement of the wide and deep impact of her work. These are galvanising books, written with equal measures of knowledge and passion. She has the gift of imparting to her readers the sense of righteous fury that comes from systemic and structural inequalities. Criado Perez is a diligent researcher, moving deftly between science writing, feminist politics and data analysis to produce what are compelling and crucial interrogations of culture, government, history and society. These books are calls to arms that have, and will continue to, inspire change. We offer our sincere congratulations to Caroline and look forward to what comes next.”
Dan Conway, CEO of the Publishers Association, said: “The Unwin Award aims to celebrate authors whose work has made a truly valuable impact on society. Caroline Criado Perez’s impact on the cultural conversation in the UK and beyond is incredibly significant and this is testament to the quality of her research and the energy of her writing. Huge congratulations to Caroline and her publishing team.”
The Unwin Award Lecture runs in tandem with the literary award, and the 2025 Lecture was delivered at the winner ceremony on 1 April by quantum physicist, academic, author, broadcaster and one of the UK’s best known science communicators, Professor Jim Al-Khalili.
Focusing on the value that publishing brings to society, Professor Jim Al-Khalili spoke about his career balancing a university role as an academic scientist as well as a public scientist, broadcaster and author. In particular, Professor Al-Khalili will reflect upon the undiminished thirst for popular science books that has continued unabated ever since Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time, and his part in it.