The BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction is awarded annually by the BBC "to reward the best of non-fiction and is open to authors of all non-fiction books in the areas of current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography, autobiography and the arts." The prize is £20,000 – which means this prize is a very big deal, even if you've never heard of it.

The latest winner of the Samuel Johnson Prize for Nonfiction is featured immediately below, followed by a complete list of all past winners of the prize along with a link to our index of several hundred other book awards that have a featured page on Happy Dead Trees.

The Latest Winner of the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction:

2010 - Nothing to Envy: Real Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

All Past Winners of the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction:

1999 - Stalingrad by Antony Beever

2000 - Berlioz: Servitude and Greatness by David Cairns

2001 - The Third Reich: A New History by Michael Burleigh

2002 - Peacemakers: The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 by Margaret MacMillan

2003 - Pushkin: A Biography by T. J. Binyon

2004 - Stasiland by Anna Funder

2005 - Like a Fiery Elephant by Jonathan Coe

2006 - 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare by James Shapiro

2007 - Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran

2008 - The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher or the Murder at Road House by Kate Summersdale

2009 - Leviathan, or the Whale by Philip Hoare

2010 - Nothing to Envy: Real Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

2011 - will be announced summer of 2011

Official website of the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction