• My BPS

    • Book Award

    This award recognises high standards of published works in psychology.

    Nominees are able to nominate books in any of the following categories:

    • Academic monograph – a significant scholarly work, usually by a single author that has contributed to, defined or redefined an area of psychological knowledge.
    • Practitioner texts – a manual, reference or handbook, that has made a significant impact in expounding and promulgating an evidence-based approach, to an area of practice of psychology.
    • Textbook – an instructional text or manual on one area of psychological knowledge or on psychology more generally for the specific purpose of contributing to a course of psychological study that has made a significant impact on the learning and teaching of psychology.
    • Popular science – an exposition of an area of psychology or psychology more generally, written in an accessible way and aimed at the general reader.

    Each category will receive one award.

    Application open and close dates

    • Nominations open on 9 March 2026 at 9:00am
    • Nominations close on 12 April 2026 at 11:59pm

    Please note: This is an annual award.

    Funding

    The award includes a commemorative certificate and the sum of £500.

    Please note: the £500 prize is awarded per book, not per author.

    Application Criteria

    Please note that application criteria and eligibility are subject to change. 

    Any changes may be applied when the scheme is open to application. 

    All applications are anonymised by the BPS and then assessed by the panel members to discourage any unconscious bias. 

    Please read the following information before submitting your nomination.

    • Nominators can make up to a maximum of two nominations in each category (please submit nominations separately).
    • Individuals, authors, publishers, or their agents may make a nomination.
    • Nomination submissions must include the title of the book; the category in which it is being nominated; the name(s) and full contact details (including email address) of the author(s) and the publisher and the date of publication.

    Please include a statement (approximately one side of A4), explaining:

    1. Why the author(s) should receive the Book Award
    2. Why the book is relevant now, what new issues/approaches it includes and how it    differs from previous publications.
    3. What is the focus of evidence (e.g. theoretical discussions or experimental research, case studies supported by previous work, the author's own research etc.).
    4. Who the intended audience is and why they should read it.
    5. How the book will enhance knowledge, research, practice, or day-to-day life.

    Please note: if you are re-submitting a nomination from a previous year, please include reviews that have been published in the period following the initial submission.

    Reviews from online journals are acceptable. However, non-peer reviewed ratings e.g. Amazon reviews are not accepted.

    Please provide an electronic copy of the book. This will greatly assist the panel.

    If we do not receive any books of sufficient merit within a category, we reserve the right to make no award.

    Assessment Criteria

    The panel will assess each book on how successful it has been in achieving its purposes. As well as:

    • The engagement of the writing style.
    • Whether the book communicates aspects of psychological science, such as presenting some research details, including findings and not just conclusions.
    • Accuracy of content with no misleading claims or outdated theories.

    Eligibility

    Criteria and eligibility are subject to change (changes will be applied when the award is open to nominations)

    Nominations must meet the following eligibility criteria:

    • The author or at least one co-author must be resident in the UK
    • We can only accept nominations for books published after 01 January 2022
    • The book must be consistent with the society's Guidelines on The Use of Non-Sexist Language (copies of which are available on request)
    • Only first editions of a book are considered
    • Edited collections of papers are not eligible
    • Books published by the society under the partnership with Routledge are not eligible

    Conflicts of interest

    Applicants must declare all personal and professional conflicts of interest e.g. if applying with a spouse/partner or other relation.

    A conflict of interest will not prevent acceptance of the application but will be borne in mind by the awarding panel.

    If we become aware of a conflict of interest that has not been declared, we will withdraw the application. 

    How to apply

    Nomination forms must be completed and submitted online.

    Submit a nomination

    If you have any questions, please email [email protected].

    Please note: we cannot accept late nominations.

    2025

    • Popular Science category - Gina Rippon
      The Lost Girls of Autism
    • Text Book category - Roxanne Khan
      The Psychology of Honor Abuse, Violence, and Killings 
    • Academic Monograph category - Carolyn Laubender
      The Political Clinic
    • Practitioner Text category - Laura Scarrone Bonhomme
      Gender Affirming Therapy: A Guide to What Transgender and Non-Binary Clients Can Teach Us 

    2024

    2023

    2022

    2021

    2020

    2019

    • Popular Science category - Alan Baddeley
      Working Memories: Postmen, Divers and Cognitive Revolution
    • Academic Monograph category - Elisabeth Murray; Steven Wise and Kim Graham 
      The Evolution of memory systems: ancestors, anatomy and adaptions
    • Textbook category - Colin Cooper
      Psychological Testing: Theory and Practice
    • Practitioner Text category - Jill Boucher
      Autism Spectrum Disorder: Characteristics, Causes and Practical Issues

    2018

    • Popular Science category - Tali Sharot
      The Influential Mind: What the Brain Reveals About Our Power to Change Others
    • Textbook category - Jennifer Brown, Yvonne Shell and Terri Cole
      Forensic Psychology: Theory, Research, Policy, Practice
    • Academic Monograph category - Chris Chambers
      The Seven Deadly Sins of Psychology: A Manifesto for Reforming the Culture of Scientific Practice

    2017

    2016

    • Popular Science category - Richard Stephens
      Black Sheep: The Hidden Benefits of Being Bad
    • Textbook category - Andrew P. Wickens
      A History of the Brain: From Stone Age Surgery to Modern Neuroscience
    • Practitioner Text category - Rudi Coetzer and Ross Balchin
      Working with Brain Injury - A Primer for Psychologists Working in Under-Resourced Settings
    • Academic Monograph category - Susan Golombok
      Modern Families: Parents and Children in New Family Forms

    2015

    • Popular Science category - Michael Bond
      The Power of Others: Peer Pressure, Groupthink, and How the People Around Us Shape Everything We do
    • Textbook category - Lynne Murray
      The Psychology of Babies

    2014

    • Popular Science category - Tali Sharot
      The Optimism Bias... Why We're Wired to Look on the Bright Side
    • Textbook category - John Cromby, David Harper, and Paula Reavey
      Psychology, Mental Health, and Distress

    2013

    • Popular Science category - Claudia Hammond
      Time Warped: Unlocking the Mysteries of Time Perception
    • Textbook category - Victoria Clarke, Sonja J. Ellis, Elizabeth Peel, and Damien W. Riggs
      Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer Psychology: An Introduction
    • Practitioner Text category - Emma Donaldson-Feilder, Joanna Yarker, and Rachel Lewis
      Preventing Stress in Organizations: How to Develop Positive Managers
    • Academic Monograph category - Claire Hughes
      Social Understanding and Social Lives: From Toddlerhood Through to the Transition to School