Book by Manchester historian shortlisted for prestigious Wolfson History Prize

‘Vanished: An Unnatural History of Extinction’ is among six books competing for the UK’s leading history writing prize

Professor Sadiah Qureshi’s exploration of extinction, empire and the natural world is among six works shortlisted for the 2026 Wolfson History Prize.

Now in its 54th year, the prize – which celebrates historical non-fiction that combines outstanding research with compelling and accessible writing for non-specialist readers - is the most valuable history writing prize in the UK. The winner will receive £50,000, while each shortlisted author will receive £5,000. The winner of the 2026 prize will be announced in December.

Vanished, published by Allen Lane, examines the history of extinction and challenges the idea that it is simply a natural phenomenon.

Professor Qureshi’s book argues that extinction is a surprisingly modern idea that has allowed humans to imagine themselves as on the verge of apocalyptic mass extinction and desperate to resurrect lost species. Her research shows that extinction is both an evolutionary process and a human act, leaving us facing chilling political choices in the present.

The Wolfson judges described Vanished as a “dazzling” work, praising its breadth and originality as an account of “the idea and reality of extinction in the natural and human world”.

Exploring the history of extinction

Vanished explores how extinction – now fundamental to modern science and environmentalism – was only recognised as inherent in the natural world in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

The book also explores how new ideas about animal extinction were quickly intertwined with debates about race, prehistory, and conflict, revealing the human choices and political forces that have shaped understandings of extinction.

By uncovering the cultural, political and imperial contexts in which extinction was first understood, Professor Qureshi traces the roots of many contemporary political crises from climate change to rights for all life on earth.

Vanished was previously shortlisted for the 2025 Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize, which celebrates the best popular science writing from around the world.

The Wolfson nomination is the latest major recognition for Professor Qureshi’s work.

In 2025 she was awarded the prestigious Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar Medal and Lecture by the Royal Society – its highest honour for a historian of science – in recognition of her internationally acclaimed research on science, race, empire and the history of extinction.

Historian of science, race and empire

Professor Qureshi is a writer and historian of science, race and empire and is Chair of Modern British History at The University of Manchester.

She has made major contributions to the history of race, science, and empire while also engaging audiences beyond academia through her writing, media work, museum collaborations and public discussions.

Her writing has appeared in publications including the London Review of Books, Times Literary Supplement and New Statesman.

The 2026 Wolfson History Prize shortlist spans almost 3,000 years of human history and includes books on ancient Mesopotamia, Europe’s last pagan societies, the German Peasants’ War, Alfred Tennyson and Liverpool’s post-industrial decline.

The winner will be announced on Tuesday 1 December.