The Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize shortlist for 2024 has been revealed. The best popular science writing is recognised by an award, and this year’s shortlist includes six works.

Following a meeting with Camilla Pang, the 2020 winner of the prize, Bobby Seagull, one of this year’s five judges, made the news at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

The works by this year’s authors, who cover a wide range of scientific subjects like the science of ageing, extinction events, and space exploration, are all included on the list for the first time. From 254 submissions published between July 1, 2023, and September 30, 2024, a shortlist was chosen.

The full shortlist
Eve: How The Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon (Hutchinson Heinemann)
Everything Is Predictable: How Bayes’ Remarkable Theorem Explains the World by Tom Chivers (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
Your Face Belongs to Us: The Secretive AI Startup Dismantling Your Privacy by Kashmir Hill (Simon & Schuster)
The Last of Its Kind: The Search for the Great Auk and the Discovery of Extinction by Gísli Pálsson (Princeton University Press)
Why We Die: The New Science of Ageing and the Quest for Immortality by Venki Ramakrishnan (Hodder Press)
A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through? by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith (Particular Books)

The chair of the 2024 judges, Professor John Hutchinson, stated: “There was fierce competition for this shortlist. 2023–2024 has been a fantastic year for science fiction novels. Our selection includes a wide range of current topics, including artificial intelligence, privacy concerns, the difficulties of space settlement, the evolution of female reproductive biology, the discovery of human-induced extinction itself, and the biology of ageing and death.

“There’s something for everyone interested in science here, whether it’s for your own leisure reading and enlightenment, a generous gift for someone else, or for education in STEM disciplines. Humanity needs creative and scholarly books like these that digest the huge wealth of modern scientific understanding and translate it into accessible impact.”

 Alongside Professor John Hutchinson, the 2024 judging panel comprises Booker Prize-winning author and screenwriter Eleanor Catton; New Scientist comment and culture editor Alison Flood; teacher, broadcaster and writer Bobby Seagull; and lecturer in functional materials at Imperial College London and Royal Society University research fellow, Dr Jess Wade.

President of the Royal Society, Sir Adrian Smith FRS, said: “Science is central to all of our lives and is woven through every aspect of our existence. For this reason, people from all walks of life should be able to access it easily. Our Trivedi Science Book Prize provides a vital link between the expert scientific community and the public, communicating pioneering but often technical research to mainstream audiences. Each of this year’s shortlisted books is a testament to both the wonders of science and the art of writing, and bring these fascinating and varied areas of enquiry and discovery to curious readers everywhere.”