The full 2020 shortlist is (in order of author surname):
- The World According to Physics, by Jim Al-Khalili (Princeton University Press)
- The Body: A Guide for Occupants, by Bill Bryson (Transworld Publishers)
- The Great Pretender: The Undercover Mission That Changed Our Understanding of Madness, by Susannah Cahalan (Canongate Books)
- Explaining Humans: What Science Can Teach Us about Life, Love and Relationships, by Camilla Pang (Viking)
- The Double X Economy: The Epic Power of Empowering Women, by Linda Scott (Faber & Faber)
- Transcendence: How Humans Evolved through Fire, Language, Beauty, and Time, by Gaia Vince (Allen Lane)
