From Queen Victoria’s imagined love children to Princess Margaret’s speculative diagnoses, modern biographies are increasingly blurring the line between storytelling and speculation. But why are journalists letting them?

Book prizes used to be rare honours. Now they’re everywhere - from international juggernauts to niche gongs for every genre and age group. In this insightful (and slightly cheeky) blog, I explore how this prize culture reshapes publishing, boosts authors, powers marketing machines like The Bookseller, and raises the question: are we celebrating excellence - or just addicted to applause?