Annual award for autobiographies of literary excellence
The TLSAckerley Prize is awarded annually to a literary
autobiography of excellence, written by an author of British nationality and published during the preceding year. The winner receives £3,000.
The prize was established by Nancy West, née Ackerley, sister of English author and editor
J. R. Ackerley, and was first awarded in 1982.
The prize is judged by the trustees of the J. R. Ackerley Trust; biographer and historian
Peter Parker (Chair), the biographer and critic
Claire Harman, and the writer and editor Michael Caines.[1] There is no formal submission process for the award — judges simply "call in" books to be added to their longlist.[2]
In 2023, the Prize’s long partnership with
English PEN, when it was known as the PEN Ackerley Prize, came to an end, and it reverted to its original name of the Ackerley Prize.
In 2024, the Prize formed a partnership with the Times Literary Supplement and was renamed the TLS Ackerley Prize.[3]
Annual award for autobiographies of literary excellence
The TLSAckerley Prize is awarded annually to a literary
autobiography of excellence, written by an author of British nationality and published during the preceding year. The winner receives £3,000.
The prize was established by Nancy West, née Ackerley, sister of English author and editor
J. R. Ackerley, and was first awarded in 1982.
The prize is judged by the trustees of the J. R. Ackerley Trust; biographer and historian
Peter Parker (Chair), the biographer and critic
Claire Harman, and the writer and editor Michael Caines.[1] There is no formal submission process for the award — judges simply "call in" books to be added to their longlist.[2]
In 2023, the Prize’s long partnership with
English PEN, when it was known as the PEN Ackerley Prize, came to an end, and it reverted to its original name of the Ackerley Prize.
In 2024, the Prize formed a partnership with the Times Literary Supplement and was renamed the TLS Ackerley Prize.[3]