Linda McMaken
7-19-11
Cincinnati, OH
The Wellcome Trust Book Prize is awarded yearly to the best literature that features medicine in both fiction and non-fiction. Begun in 2009, the judging panel is always a diverse group gleaned from the areas of medicine and literature. Chaired by Vivienne Parry, writer and broadcaster, she explains, “medical sciences helps to explain life but the arts give life meaning.”It is with that philosophy that the Wellcome Trust Book Prize is given each year.
The list of the final six books competing for the prize will be announced at the Times Cheltenham Literature Festival in October, with the winner being announced in November.
This year’s judging panel members are:
Vivienne Parry – science writer and broadcaster, her articles have appeared in the Times, The Guardian, and Good Housekeeping, and she is well known for her BBC Radio 4 Programs.
Joanna Bourke – Professor of History at Birkbeck College, author on nine books, a newspaper correspondent and a regular contributor on radio and television.
Roger Highfield – The Daily Telegraph Science Editor for twenty years, and editor of New Scientist magazine. He is the winner of the British Press Award, and has written and co-authored seven books.
Tim Lott – Winner of the PEN/JR Ackerly Prize for Autobiography, his first novel won the Whitbread First Novel Award. He is also a former journalist.
Erica Wagner – The Times Literary Editor, her articles have appeared in numerous publications, and on radio, author of a collection of short stories, she also reviews for the New York Times, and has judgedseveral distinguished literary competitions.
