It’s that time of year again. The Royal Society’s annual prize for the best science book of the past year will be announced on 21 October. The award ceremony is open to all on a first-come-first-seated basis. Head judge Maggie Philbin will engage the shortlisted authors in conversation, before announcing the winner.

The shortlist:

1. A World Without Ice by Henry Pollack (Avery Books, Penguin Group)
2. Everyday Practice of Science: Where Intuition and Passion Meet Objectivity and Logic by Frederick Grinnell (Oxford University Press)
3. God’s Philosophers: How the medieval world laid the foundations of modern science by James Hannam (Icon Books)
4. Life Ascending by Nick Lane (Profile Books)
5. We Need To Talk About Kelvin by Marcus Chown (Faber and Faber)
6. Why Does E=mc2? by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw (Da Capo Press, Perseus Books Group)

Good to see relatively unkown authors and some small publishers on the list. Would anyone commend any of these in particular? (I confess I haven’t read any of this year’s crop.)

Royal Society Prize for Science Books 2010, 21 October, 6:30pm-8:00pm, The Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG. Entrance is free.