Electric, poignant, exquisitely written: inside the inaugural Women’s prize for nonfiction shortlist

The award’s chair of judges talks us through the contenders – from a study of AI’s underbelly to a poignant autobiography – and why they made the final six
• The Women’s prize for nonfiction shortlist

As chair of judges for the inaugural Women’s prize for nonfiction, it has been a privilege to read some of the best work produced in English by women in the last year. From our longlist of 16 fantastic titles, my fellow judges Venetia La Manna, Nicola Rollock, Anne Sebba, Kamila Shamsie and I have chosen a shortlist of six must-read books.

The first (in order of author’s surname) is Thunderclap, by Observer art critic Laura Cumming. The author draws attention to the genius of an overlooked artist, Carel Fabritius and, by extension, makes us look anew at the whole of Dutch art. Amid this she weaves in sections of memoir about her artist father. Deeply researched and meticulously wrought, this is tender, electric and highly original. Cumming has a real gift for putting paintings into words: she helps the reader to see things that they might have otherwise missed. She is a master of structure, and her diction is gorgeous, while the revelation on the last page is breathtakingly poignant.