Davina McCall won the top gong at the British Book Awards for her take on menopause

Davina McCall and its co-author, Dr. Naomi Potter, were recognized as book of the year at the show British Book Award for their study in menopause.

Menopause, a documentary guide that shares real-life stories, science and advice about perimenopause and menopause, was selected from 12 individual category winners, which were announced at a ceremony dubbed The Nibbies at Grosvenor House in London on Monday.

TV presenter McCall, 55, has been outspoken about the lack of medical knowledge on the subject in recent years and has opened up about her own journey through menopause and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in a series of Channel 4 documentaries.

The work was highly appreciated by the jury, which included the presenter of Channel 4 News Krishnan Guru-Murthybroadcaster and author Anita Raniradio presenter Vicka Hope, comedian Ellie Taylor and Waterstones Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho.

Reflecting on menopause, Guru-Murthy said, “This book helped spark a national conversation about menopause and captured the zeitgeist.

“It was skillfully marketed and nurtured by the publishing team through significant obstacles.

“The pairing of Davina McCall with Dr. Naomi Potter was clever enough to create an authoritative and useful yet entertaining book about an important and neglected subject.”

It also won the Lifestyle and Illustrated Non-Fiction Book of the Year categories, beating off stiff competition from the likes of Jamie Oliver’s For One and Greta Thunberg’s Climate Book.

In the Absolute Book of the Year category, it beat notable names including Richard E. Grant, who won the Nonfiction Audiobook of the Year category for A Pocketful of Happiness, and former Love Island star Dr. Alex Georgewho took home the award for Best Children’s Non-Fiction for A Better Day.

It also edged out titles that have garnered a lot of fanfare on social media, such as Colleen Hoover’s Verity, which won Best Page-Turner, and RF Kuang’s Babel, which won Best Fiction.

Best-selling author Bonnie Harmus, 66, who wrote her debut novel aged 64, was named author of the year for her humorous tale Chemistry Lessons.

Alice Osseman, creator of the bestselling Heartstopper graphic novels that inspired the popular Netflix series, has been named Illustrator of the Year.

Philip Jones, chairman of the British Book Awards and editor of The Bookseller, said: “Readers were the real winners this year, with titles from Menopausing to Tyger to I’m a Fan demonstrating the remarkable virtuosity of the book business, especially for its role in strengthening and creating conversations about mental health, misogyny, sexuality and gender, menopause and more.

“These awards live up to the idea that publishing is a one-sided business: our judges this year chose to reward exceptional and compelling stories that are skilfully marketed, and the book trade is honored for its commitment to promoting all kinds of reading for all. types of readers’.

Alice O’Keeffe, chair of the Book of the Year judging panel and books editor, said: “Our judging panel was up to the task of selecting the winners of the British Book Awards 2023 from this year’s strong shortlists.

“From gripping fantasy to cerebral crime, and from heartfelt memoir to life-changing menopause advice, we celebrate these wonderful books and the dedication of publishers who bring them to readers everywhere.”