Winner 2026: William Boyd
William Boyd is a British novelist, short-story writer and screenwriter whose fiction is admired for its narrative energy, wit, and historical range. His early experiences in West Africa helped shape the comic and political landscapes of his first novels, especially A Good Man in Africa and An Ice-Cream War. The author of nineteen novels, his work ranges widely across genres, and a recurring form in his fiction is what he has called the “whole-life” novel: a book that follows a character across decades, charting private hopes, failures, reinventions and historical change.
“Boyd’s style is vivid and strongly plotted, and beneath the readability of his novels lie serious themes of memory, self-invention and the fragile border between truth and fiction. Reading William Boyd is always a pleasure.” Pleasure of Reading Prize Judges
“I’m both delighted and honoured to have won the Pleasure for Reading Prize in 2026. It is wonderful to be in the company of such distinguished previous winners. Probably the best prize any serious author can win!” William Boyd
Boyd has been the recipient of numerous awards, including The Whitbread First Novel Award and the Costa Book Award, and in 2005 he was appointed Commander of the Order of The British Empire for his services to Literature.
The Pleasure of Reading Prize 2026 will be shared between William Boyd and the Give a Book project of his choice.
Photo credit: Trevor Leighton
The Pleasure of Reading Prize Judges 2026:
- Lady Antonia Fraser, CH, DBE, writer and biographer (Chair)
- Sigrid Rausing, philanthropist, anthropologist and publisher
- James Naughtie, writer and special correspondent
- Robert Harris, author and The Pleasure of Reading Prize Winner 2025
- Esther Freud, this year’s guest judge and Bloomsbury author
- Victoria Gray, Executive Director of Give a Book (Secretary)
