Amitav Ghosh’s book Smoke and Ashes: Opium’s Hidden Histories has been shortlisted for the 2024 British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding. The US-based, Kolkata-born author is recognized for his work alongside five other authors in the competition for the £25,000 prize, which highlights international nonfiction writing. Ghosh’s book focuses on the global opium trade, tracing its economic and cultural impacts from the 18th century to modern times, including the opioid crisis in the United States.
The prize, in its 12th year, is open to authors worldwide and seeks to recognize works that promote cultural understanding. The judging panel commended Ghosh’s “storytelling skills to bring to life this highly readable travelogue, memoir, and history.” His research draws on archival material used in his Ibis Trilogy to explore the enduring influence of opium.
Other titles on the shortlist include Material World: A Substantial Story of Our Past and Future by Ed Conway and The Secret Lives of Numbers: A Global History of Mathematics & Its Unsung Trailblazers by Kate Kitagawa and Timothy Revell. The prize will be awarded at a ceremony in London on October 22, with each shortlisted author receiving £1,000.
Last year’s winner, Nandini Das, was honored for Courting India: England, Mughal India and the Origins of Empire, with a digital exhibition featuring themes from her book showcased as part of London’s Open House Festival.
