Carl Zimmer, Monika Utnik-Strugała and Piotr Socha, Jacques Le Goff, as well as Julita Mańczak and Jakub Małecki triumphed in the 7th Smart Book of the Year contest. As in previous years, there were 10 books for adults and 5 books for children nominated for the award. The contest is organised by the Jagiellonian University and the Smart Books website.
The Smart Book of the Year award aims to motivate both publishers and authors to strive for the highest standards of popular science books. The Euclid Statuette, given each year to the best science communication publications, serves as a mark of quality for readers, as well as a positive feedback for authors and publishers.
This year, the main prize – Smart Book of the Year 2021 – was awarded to Planet of Viruses by Carl Zimmer, in which the author discusses how viruses control life on Earth. Brud. Cuchnąca historia higieny – a book by Monika Utnik-Strugała about the history of various aspects of hygiene – was recognised as the best popular science book for children. The academic community of the Jagiellonian University voted to award its prize to Must We Divide History into Periods? – the last book by the eminent French medievalist the late Jacques Le Goff. Last but not least, the public choice award of Gazeta Wyborcza daily went to Początek końca? Rozmowy o lodzie I zmianie klimatu (Beginning of the end? Conversations about ice and the climate change) by Julita Mańczak and Jakub Małecki.
The Smart Book of the Year contest was organised by the Jagiellonian University and the Smart Books website in partnership with Copernicus Festival, De Revolutionibus Books & Café, and Gazeta Wyborcza daily. The winners of two main prizes were selected by the award chapter consisting of JU Rector’s Proxy Prof. Stanisław Kistryn, journalist Aleksandra Stanisławska, editor-in-chief of the Smart Books website Leszek Szumlas, editor-in-chief of Gazeta Wyborcza in Kraków Michał Olszewski, Carbon Footprint Foundation coordinator Marta Seweryn as well as science communicators Dr Monika Koperska, Marta Trzeciak and Dr Kamil Kopij.
