01 September 2025
The Profile Books and Alexander Aitken Ideas Prize is pleased to announce its shortlist for the best debut trade non-fiction proposal from an academic. The Ideas Prize was first launched in 2019, and offers a £25,000 book contract with Profile Books, as well as representation with Aitken Alexander Associates, to the winning book proposal.
The shortlisted authors will be receiving guidance from an agent at Aitken Alexander on the next steps of their proposals, after which the winner will be determined via a judging panel. Many congratulations to our shortlisted authors for their wonderful projects, which are as follows:
Nicholas Radburn for Firearm Frontier
Lancaster University
Firearm Frontier explores the interconnection between the firearm and slave trades in world history. Following the British arms and ammunition trade across the globe, from warriors in the tropical forests of West Africa and Native Americans in the frozen tundra of Canada, to Maori warriors storming hill forts in precolonial New Zealand and East African marksmen stalking the savannah, Radburn will explore the devastating effects of the arrivals of these weapons. Firearm Frontier offer new perspectives on an age of slavery more violent and deadly than anything the world had ever seen, charting how gunpowder technology remade environments, cultures, politics, and societies.
Megan Gooch for Crash
University of Oxford
When a new coin type is created it is called a recoinage. We’ve had one recently with the coins of King Charles III entering circulation and replacing those of Queen Elizabeth II. Not all recoinages are a sign of an economic crisis, such as the accession of a new monarch, but historically, all financial crises created a recoinage. Crash is an adventure through numismatics – the study of coins – bringing together the disastrous histories of medieval kings, Tudor queens, civil wars, Viking invaders, and the coin that broke the French economy and led to the creation of the Franc, among many others.
Alexis Wick for Before 1498
Koç University
Drawing on years of study and research, Alexis Wick brings to life the story and legacy of Ahmad Ibn Majid, known to his peers as the ‘Lion of the Seas’, legendary master navigator of the Indian Ocean, on the eve of the arrival of the first Portuguese ships – and following them, European colonialism. In this evocative, fascinating maritime adventure, Before 1498 uncovers the untold story of Ibn Majid’s life and work, shedding precious light on long-neglected non-European traditions of learning and practices of navigation.
Congratulations to those who have been shortlisted, and many thanks to all who entered. The submissions window will open for the 2026 prize later this year when we announce the winner of the 2025 edition.