There is no other literary accolade quite like the Nine Dots Prize. It is anonymously judged, for one, and, just as significantly, it is awarded for a book that does not yet exist.

Every two years its Board convenes to decide on a question inspired by a problem or concern of contemporary global importance. We invite writers from all over the world, whether established or aspiring, to respond to that question in no more than 3,000 words. The most compelling response is awarded $100,000, a book deal from Cambridge University Press, and support from the team at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) at Cambridge University. The winning applicant therefore has everything they need to develop their idea into a full-length book which is subsequently sold in bookshops and, crucially, made available online for free.

That the Prize is judged anonymously means each applicant can be confident they are judged purely on the merits of their writing and ideas, and not their CV, background or identity. This is essential if we are to realise our ambition of finding and championing the most exciting thinkers in the world.

In 2022, for our fourth cycle, we posed the question ‘Why has the rule of law become so fragile?’ Of the hundreds of submissions we received, there emerged a clear frontrunner. Taking the case of the 2021 Berlin Referendum, in which voters decided to expropriate hundreds of thousands of properties from corporate landlords into public ownership, this was an entry that mixed the urgency of contemporary politics with the complexity of recent history. This combination succeeded in winning over our judges. The resulting book is Radically Legal, in which Dr Joanna Kusiak deploys both her knowledge and experience as a ‘scholar-activist’ to demonstrate the potential of this new form of politics to deepen our democracies, renew the rule of law and bring about progressive change.

Joanna Kusiak joins an impressive network of winners, in tech strategist turned Oxford philosopher James Williams, writer and journalist Annie Zaidi, and the journalist Trish Lorenz. We hope that this book will succeed in having a similar impact as those of Kusiak’s predecessors, provoking debate, sparking hope and contributing in some part to positive change in our societies.

Professor Simon Goldhill

Professor of Greek Literature and Culture and Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge and Chair of the Nine Dots Prize Board

For more about the Nine Dots Prize, please visit: ninedotsprize.org

Figure 0.1 Deutsche Wohnen & Co. enteignen’s cheerleading squad dancing in front of the Reichstag

(Source: Christian Mang)