Spotlight
Nicholas Boggs, Anand Gopal, Patrick Radden Keefe, Edmund Richardson, Matthew Sweet and Andrea Wulf have been announced as the six authors shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2026. The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction is widely recognised as the world's most prestigious international award for literary non-fiction that is open to books on any subject and to writers of any nationality. Since 1999 it has named the best non-fiction book of the year. The winning author receives £50,000. The shortlist of six books were chosen by this year’s judging panel: Kirsty Lang, broadcaster and arts journalist (chair); head of books at Waterstones, Bea Carvalho; writer and cultural historian Dr Tiffany Jenkins; literary editor of The Spectator, Sam Leith; editor and reporter, Ravi Mattu; and award-winning novelist and storyteller, Elif Shafak. Their selection was made from over 350 eligible books published between 1 November 2025 and 31 October 2026. From the courts of ancient Macedon and the upheaval of the French Revolution to contemporary London and revolutionary Syria, this year's shortlist spans biography, history, investigation and political reportage. The winner will be announced on Wednesday 4 November at an award ceremony at BMA House, generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. The announcement will also be livestreamed across the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction social channels.
A feature in The Times of Israel explores how Israeli musician Noga Erez and her partner and collaborator, Ori Rousso, navigated the professional and personal upheaval following the October 7, 2023 attacks and ensuing war. Facing canceled performances, online abuse and cultural boycotts, the pair feared their international career might be over—but chose to keep creating and performing. The Times of Israel Their perseverance brought renewed momentum, with most shows across North America and Europe selling out. A performance at Coachella in April 2026 marked a significant milestone, and the pair are preparing to bring their expanded production to larger venues on their spring 2027 tour. Noga, a documentary supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation, with Len Blavatnik serving as an executive producer premiered at the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival and explores the intersection of Erez’s music, identity, and personal responsibilities. Through a close look at her creative partnership with Rousso, their relationship and their journey into parenthood, the documentary offers an intimate portrait of the life behind the performances.
Moving a life sciences discovery from a laboratory toward patients takes more than promising data. Faculty teams must identify the evidence needed to advance a technology, understand where it could fit in the market, and make decisions about development, funding, and the people needed to carry the work forward. At Yale, Blavatnik Fellows work alongside faculty and Yale Ventures through that process. The one-year Blavatnik Fellowship brings life science professionals into Yale and New Haven’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Since 2018, the Blavatnik Fellowship at Yale has welcomed 31 fellows across nine cohorts. Fellows help faculty teams assess the commercial potential of their research and turn early ideas into development plans. Yale Ventures’ current Blavatnik fellows Rena Yan, PhD; Nancy Sey, PhD; Ronak Savla, PhD; and Laura Stevens, PhD, are working across oncology, diagnostics, neurodegenerative disease, and women’s health. They shared what drew them to the fellowship and what they have learned about translating research.
The Blavatnik Family Foundation and The New York Academy of Sciences have announced the 2026 Blavatnik Regional Awards for Young Scientists, recognizing three Laureates and six Finalists for postdoctoral research across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Selected from 176 nominations representing 35 academic and research institutions, the honorees span the Chemical Sciences, Life Sciences, and Physical Sciences & Engineering. Trevor van Eeuwen of The Rockefeller University was named Chemical Sciences Laureate for research on mobile DNA elements and their connections to immune responses, autoimmune disease, and cancer. Barbara Bosch, also of The Rockefeller University, received the Life Sciences honor for developing scalable methods to identify bacterial inhibitors, including those targeting Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Natalie Fardian-Melamed of Columbia University was named Physical Sciences & Engineering Laureate for light-based nanosensors with potential applications in biomedicine, robotics, and quantum technologies. Six Finalists were also recognized for work spanning gene transcription, quantum materials, RNA regulation, aging, cosmological simulations, and supermassive black holes, and all nine honorees will be celebrated at the annual Blavatnik Awards ceremony on October 6, 2026, in New York.
Providing many of the world's best researchers, scientists, and universities with support, and funding to discover breakthroughs that solve humankind's greatest challenges.
The Foundation contributes to renowned institutions that showcase the breadth of arts and culture, including performance, exhibition and education.
The Blavatnik Archive is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to preserving and disseminating materials that contribute to the study of 20th-century Jewish and world history, with a special emphasis on World War I, World War II, and Soviet Russia.
