MPs Choose Clegg’s How to Stop Brexit as Top Non-Fiction Book of 2017

Nick Clegg, Harriet Harman and Brendan Cox have been announced as the winners of the second Parliamentary Book Awards, as voted for by MPs and members of the House of Lords.

Nick Clegg won Best Non-Fiction by a Parliamentarian for How to Stop Brexit (And Make Britain Great Again), The Sunday Times Bestseller, in which Clegg debunks what he sees as the various myths that have been used to force Brexit on Britain, and explains how this ‘historic mistake’ can be reversed.

Harriet Harman was awarded Best Memoir by a Parliamentarian for A Woman’s Work, which spans the entire career of Britain’s longest-serving female MP, looking at Harman’s own life to see how far we’ve come, and where we should go next.

Brendan Cox took home Best Political Book by a Non-Parliamentarian for Jo Cox: More in Common, an impassioned portrait of his late wife, murdered MP, Jo Cox, as a daughter, mother, wife, sister, MP and campaigner.

Launched by the Booksellers Association and the Publishers Association in 2016, the awards aim to celebrate the best of political writing and the long-standing link between politics, books and publishing. The shortlist was voted for by UK bookshops, with parliamentarians voting on the winner in each category.

Lis Tribe, PA President and Nic Bottomley, BA Vice President hosted the event, and presented the winners with their awards. Conservative Party politician, Andrew Lewer kindly sponsored the event.

Stephen Lotinga, Chief Executive of the Publishers Association, said: “The role books play in shaping the political debate has never been more relevant and tonight’s winners serve to highlight this. All three winning titles make vital contributions to our thinking on important political issues, whether this is on the position of women in politics, by helping us come to terms with the tragic death of Jo Cox MP or by weighing into the divisive issue of our decision to leave the European Union.”

Tim Godfray, Chief Executive of the Booksellers Association, added: “The shortlists, curated by the UK’s bookshops, represented an intriguing and eclectic range of titles for Parliamentarians to choose from and the winners are no less fascinating; timely and tackling some of the major themes of the moment. All have been beautifully crafted, and celebrate the longstanding relationship between politics and the booksellers.”

The winners saw off competition from a strong shortlist that included former Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis’ Adults in the Room, Jess Philips’ Everywoman: One Woman’s Truth About Speaking the Truth, andChris Skidmore’s Richard III.

Notes to Editors

The submission criteria is as follows:

• Books to have been first published in the UK in Hardback or in Paperback between January 1st 2017 and October 31st 2017
• Books by Parliamentarians to have been written by a current or former MP, Member of the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly or Northern Irish Legislative Assembly, MEP or Member of the House of Lords
• Political works by non-Parliamentarians should relate to UK or EU parliamentary politics      or politicians.
• There are no fees attached to entries in the awards.

The Parliamentary Book Awards 2016 winners were:

• Best Memoir by a Parliamentarian: The Long Winding Road, by Alan Johnson
• Best Non-Fiction by a Parliamentarian: Called to Account, by Margaret Hodge
• Best Fiction by a Parliamentarian: Now is the Time, by Melvyn Bragg
• Best Political Book by a non-Parliamentarian: Citizen Clem by Clement Attlee.

About The Booksellers Association (BA)

The Booksellers Association is a membership organization for all booksellers in the UK & Ireland, and we represent over 95% of specialist booksellers selling new books. The BA exists to support, advise and work with its members to create excellent products for booksellers. These range from National Book Tokens, our gift card which prompts increased footfall and keeps gift spending in the book trade, and Batch, our award-winning payments service, which saves time, money and hassle when settling invoices and organising returns, to a full range of money-saving affinity deals, a free Business Support Helpline and a whole range of tailored events, marketing and promotional campaign work, including IndieBound, World Book Day, the Christmas Books catalogue and Independent Booksellers Week.

About the Publishers Association

The Publishers Association is the leading trade organisation serving book, journal, audio and electronic publishers in the UK. Members represent over 80% of the UK publishing industry including global companies such as Elsevier, Wiley, Pearson, Penguin Random House, Hachette and the University presses, as well as many independent publishing houses. www.publishers.org.uk.