Historian Hannah Durkin has been named the winner of the Wolfson History Prize 2025 for her immersive and revelatory history of the last survivors of the Atlantic slave trade: Survivors: The Lost Stories of the Last Captives of the Atlantic Slave Trade.
The winner of the most prestigious history writing prize in the UK was announced at a ceremony in central London. Durkin was awarded £50,000, and celebrated alongside the other five shortlisted authors who each took home £5,000.
Recognising the best history writing of the previous year that combines the highest quality of research with readability for a general audience, the judges of the Wolfson History Prize 2025 were Mary Beard, Sudhir Hazareesingh, Helen King and Diarmaid MacC ulloch, with the panel chaired by David Cannadine.
On the 2025 winning title, the judges said:
A superb reconstruction of the lives of the survivors of the slave ship, Clotilda. This searing book conveys the survivors’ sufferings and remarkable resilience, bringing to life their personal stories in a compelling way.
David Cannadine, chair of the Wolfson History Prize judges said:
Survivors is a powerful, moving and revelatory account of the African captives taken aboard the Clotilda, the last ship of the Atlantic slave trade. Durkin draws on meticulous research to shed light on the survivors’ personal stories, demonstrating how they faced loss and adversity with strength and resilience, and calling our attention to their legacy. We wish to express our warmest congratulations to Hannah Durkin on winning this year’s Wolfson History Prize.
About the book
Survivors is an immersive and revelatory history of the survivors of the Clotilda, the last ship of the Atlantic slave trade, whose lives diverged and intersected in profound ways. Combining history, biography and social commentary, and drawing on Durkin’s intensive research, Survivors is an epic work that tells the stories of the Clotilda’s 110 captives. Some of the survivors lived well into the twentieth century, making them the last witnesses to the final act of a terrible and significant period in world history.
A tour de force that deepens knowledge and understanding of the Atlantic slave trade and its far-reaching influence on life today, Survivors has been described by The Times’ Pratinav Anil as “Gripping … a remarkably wide-ranging book taking in everything from science to soft drinks to show how slavery’s insidious hand wormed its way into the very fabric of American life”, while The Wall Street Journal’s Gerard Helferich noted that “Hannah Durkin lets the enslaved speak for themselves, and they tell a story not only of unimaginable suffering but also of courage and survival.”
Library Display Competition
This year, the Wolfson History Prize and The Reading Agency are offering digital POS kits to libraries across the UK which celebrate the 2025 shortlisted titles as well as previous winners and shortlisted authors. This is available from our shop.
To be in with the chance of winning a set of the shortlisted books, libraries can create a display using the posters, stickers and social media assets. Share a photo of the display on social media by 5pm on 12 December using #WolfsonHistoryPrize and tag @WolfsonHistory and @ReadingAgency to enter.
Get involved
If you work in a library or workplace and would like to promote the shortlist, you can order FREE digital packs from our shop.
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