The 2019 Non-Fiction Book of the Year was

The World I Fell Out Of by Melanie Reid

The shortlistees were 

Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me by Kate Clanchy published by Picador a Pan Macmillan imprintThis vivid, moving, and original book evokes the difficulties and wonders of the classroom. With a poet's feel for language and image, Clanchy  deftly captures the voices of her students and her own ambivalence and fears as a teacher. She sets this within the broader social and political context.  Inspirational.

Lowborn: Growing up, getting away and returning to Britain's poorest towns by Kerry Hudson published by Chatto&Windus Lowborn is a moving account that flicks back-and-forth between the scattered locations of Hudson’s youth and visits made during the writing of the book. The book’s warmth and humanity stuck with me – it does not seek to glamourise the author’s experiences on the fringes of society but presents an honest account of an experience that needs to be shared.

Seòl Mo Bheatha (My Life Journey) by  DòmhnallEachann Meek (Donald E. Meek) published by CLÀRDetailing the work of the croft in Tiree, its people,the community he knew in his childhood. My Life Journey is an outstanding biography written in the most beautiful and idiomatic Gaelic.  This book is a departure from traditional Gaelic Non-fiction with  a focus on the individual, rather than a community of people.

Jane Haining: A Life of Love and Courage by Mary Miller published by Birlinn LtdJane Haining: A Life of Love and Courage is a beautiful memorial of a book to a selfless woman who willingly gave up her life to continue to care for children during the Second World War. Through this quiet yet moving biography, Mary Miller allows us to imagine Jane Haining as she would have been in her life, humble and caring to everyone, regardless of their religion or nationality.

The World I Fell Out Of by Melanie Reid published by 4th Estate This moving and beautifully written memoir of  life after a serious spinal injury combines pain and humour along with vivid and compassionate portraits of fellow sufferers and healers alike. It is a personal memoir which puts the reader’s life in perspective but also has a wider social resonance.

My Life with Murderers: Behind Bars with the World’s Most Violent Men  by Dr David Wilson published by Little Brown a Sphere imprintThis study by a former prison governor and eminent criminologist tells a compelling story of encounters with murderers which presents powerful and fascinating insights, both psychological and sociological, spiced with humour and written without any trace of sensationalism.  This is a book which will dispel many preconceptions.