Caroline Criado-Perez, renowned for her influential non-fiction works such as Invisible Women and Do It Like a Woman, has been honored with the inaugural Unwin Award.

Acknowledging Emerging Talent

The Unwin Award, which carries a prize of £10,000, is presented to non-fiction authors in the early stages of their writing careers. The award recognizes works that make meaningful contributions to society. This initiative is supported by the Unwin Charitable Trust and managed by the Publishers Association (PA).

Ceremony Highlights

The announcement of Criado-Perez as the award recipient took place on April 1st at a ceremony at the Royal Institution in London, featuring a lecture by esteemed quantum physicist and author Professor Jim Al-Khalili.

Judges’ Praise for Criado-Perez

The judging panel commended Criado-Perez for her “political, passionate and persuasive” writing style, highlighting her extensive research methodology, adept use of statistics, and personal insights shared throughout her texts.

Insights from the Chair of the Judging Panel

Professor Shahidha Bari, who chaired the Unwin Award 2025 judging panel, remarked, “The Unwin Award is given to Criado-Perez in acknowledgment 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.”

Reflections from the Publishers Association

Dan Conway, CEO of the Publishers Association, stated, “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.”

Criado-Perez’s Response

Expressing her gratitude, Criado-Perez shared, “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.”