Call for entries for 2009 Royal Society Prize for Science Books

Entries for the 2009 Royal Society Prize for Science Books, which is among the world's leading non-fiction books prizes, are being accepted from today 25 FEBRUARY, 2009.

The 2009 Royal Society Prize for Science Books will celebrate the best of 2008's new popular science writing for a general adult readership. The Prize is open to science books written for a non-specialist audience. The winner will receive £10,000 and the authors of the short listed books £1000.

Books submitted for the prize must have been published for the first time in English during 2008 and be available to buy in the UK. Full details of the prizes' regulations and eligibility criteria and the entry form are available on the Society's website at http://royalsociety.org/sciencebooks

An online entry form must be completed for each entry, and seven non-returnable copies of each entry submitted to the Royal Society Prizes for Science Books, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG, UK by Thursday 2 April 2009.

In 2008 Six degrees: Our future on a hotter planet by Mark Lynas (Fourth Estate) was the overall winner. Other previous winners of Royal Society Books Prizes include Robert Winston, Daniel Gilbert, Matt Ridley, Bill Bryson, Frances Dipper, Stephen Hawking, Jared Diamond, Kate Petty and Fran Balkwill.

After being awarded the 2008 Royal Society Prize for Science books, Mark Lynas' Six degrees: Our future on a hotter planet enjoyed widespread media attention and saw sale figures more than double throughout the months following the award.

Due to funding issues the Junior Prize will not be offered this year. The Society is seeking longer-term support for the awards from 2010 onwards.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. The Royal Society is an independent academy promoting the natural and applied sciences. Founded in 1660, the Society has three roles, as the UK academy of science, as a learned Society, and as a funding agency. It responds to individual demand with selection by merit, not by field. As we prepare for our 350th anniversary in 2010, we are working to achieve five strategic priorities, to:


· Invest in future scientific leaders and in innovation
· Influence policymaking with the best scientific advice
· Invigorate science and mathematics education
· Increase access to the best science internationally
· Inspire an interest in the joy, wonder and excitement of scientific discovery

2. Set up in 1988 as the "Science Book Prizes", the Royal Society Prizes for Science Books were named the Rhône-Poulenc Prizes for Science Books from 1990 - 2000, and the Aventis Prizes for Science Books from 2001 - 2006.