Six books have been awarded Wellcome Collection Non-Fiction Awards 2026/27, a development programme for writers who “have a big idea for a book about health and being human”. We were delighted to hear that Wood for the Trees: Moving Health and Public Health Back to the Whole by Amitava Banerjee former Head Boy (1986-1996) was amongst the writers chosen. 

Each writer receives a £2,000 bursary, a travel and access fund, mentoring with an author, five masterclasses on writing non-fiction, insight and industry days and the opportunity to meet with agents. The winners will also be offered one-to-one sessions with Wellcome Collection’s publishing team, research specialists and Stories editorial teams; Wellcome Collection will have first refusal on the projects.

Since launching in 2022, 12 writers have participated, with five book deals including Masud Husain’s Our Brains, Our Selves (Canongate), winner of the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize 2025, Unheard by Rageshri Dhairyawan (Trapeze), How to Read Minds by Aimee Cliff (William Collins) and Speculum by Shema Tariq, due to be published by Viking in 2028. Fran Barrie, publisher at Wellcome Collection, said: “This year’s cohort of writers grapple with pressing questions of identity, empathy, care, climate collapse and so much more. In different ways, they promise to illuminate what it is to be human. We’re excited to support them in turning their ideas into fleshed-out book proposals over the coming year.Ruth Harrison, director of London Writers Centre, added: “We’re delighted to support these six exceptional writers and continue our partnership with Wellcome Collection with a programme which has already resulted in five book deals with more announcements to come. This year, alongside our development work, we will be continuing to run a public programme, opening up much-needed free and accessible opportunities for aspiring non-fiction writers from across the UK to get support.” 

The Bookseller, September 30th, written by Lauren Brown

Amitava is a loyal and longstanding supporter of Hymers since leaving in 1996, we are grateful for all of his support to Hymers and our students. He works as Professor of Clinical Data Science at UCL and Consultant Cardiologist at UCLH and Barts NHS Trusts. After qualifying from Oxford Medical School, he trained as a junior doctor in Oxford, Newcastle, Hull, and London. His interest in preventive cardiology and evidence-based medicine led to a Master's in Public Health from Harvard (2004/05), an internship at the World Health Organization (2005), and a DPhil in epidemiology from Oxford (2010). He was a Clinical Lecturer in Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Birmingham before taking up the position of Senior Lecturer in Clinical Data Science and Honorary Consultant in Cardiology at the Farr Institute of Health Informatics in August 2015. He was promoted to Professor in 2021, later taking up the role of NIHR National Specialty Cardiovascular Lead in 2024 and becoming an NIHR Senior Investigator in 2026.