Hannah Durkin, who graduated with a degree in Print Journalism in 2006, received the honour for her book Survivors – a revelatory history of the survivors of the Clotilda, the last known ship to take enslaved African people to the United States of America. It arrived in Mobile, Alabama in 1860, over 50 years after the USA banned the transatlantic slave trade. 

Hannah, a historian specialising in transatlantic slavery and African diasporic art and culture, said: “It’s an absolute dream come true to win the Wolfson History Prize. Survivors is a history book, but it’s also a work of investigative journalism that identifies victims of a terrible crime and recovers their voices.”

Hannah’s research was hindered by the fact the Clotilda’s voyage was deliberately concealed, meaning she had to meticulously analyse and compare historical documents to identify survivors, and search through old newspaper and magazine clippings that alluded to their presence in Alabama to build up a picture of their stories.

Discussing her approach to writing the book, Hannah praised the training she received at Leeds Trinity. “I’m so grateful to Leeds Trinity University for helping make it all possible,” she said. “It was thanks to my time there that I learned how to spot such culturally significant stories, and it was also Trinity that equipped me with the writing skills to tell them."

Competition judges described Survivors as “a superb reconstruction of the lives of the survivors” and praised how it “conveys the survivors’ sufferings and remarkable resilience, bringing to life their personal stories in a compelling way.”

First awarded in 1972, the Wolfson History Prize celebrates the best historical writing being produced in the UK, reflecting both readability for a general audience and the highest quality writing and research.

David Cannadine, Chair of the Wolfson History Prize judges, said: “Survivors is a powerful, moving and revelatory account of the African captives taken aboard the Clotilda. Durkin draws on meticulous research to shed light on the survivors’ personal stories, demonstrating how they faced loss and adversity with strength and resilience, and calling our attention to their legacy. We wish to express our warmest congratulations to Hannah Durkin on winning this year’s Wolfson History Prize.”

Leeds Trinity University is ranked 1st for Journalism in the UK by the Guardian University Guide 2026. For more information about courses in Leeds Trinity’s Centre for Journalism, visit the University website.