A FLINTSHIRE historian is celebrating after her debut book was shortlisted for a prestigious award.

Black Tudors: The Untold Story by Miranda Kaufmann is one of six books in the running for the Wolfson History Prize 2018, which rewards authors for their outstanding historical writing.

The overall winner will be announced on Monday June 4 at a reception at Claridge’s in London with the winner receiving £40,000 and each of the shortlisted authors receiving £4,000.

"I'm thrilled, excited, delighted and somewhat overwhelmed that my book has been shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize 2018," said Miranda, who lives in Pontblyddyn.

"This award is like the Oscars of History and there are only six books on the shortlist, so, given how many history books are published every year, it's a huge honour to be amongst them- especially as the judges are historians I greatly admire, particularly Diarmaid McCulloch, whose lectures I really loved at Oxford. It's also quite overwhelming to look back at the list of previous winners, that includes so many historians I revere."

Judges described Miranda's book, which tells the stories of Africans who lived and worked in Tudor Britain, as "a remarkable and important first book which uncovers and explores a previously neglected area of British history."

Miranda added: "Another wonderful thing about being shortlisted is that the judges look for books that combine scholarly research with readability, or as judge Professor David Cannadine puts it, books with a 'commitment to share careful research and a deep love of their subject with as wide an audience as possible' and what Wolfson CEO Paul Ramsbottom describes as 'books that sparkle with brilliance, breaking new ground in our understanding of the past and which are written in ways that appeal to a wide audience' and that's exactly what I was trying to achieve with Black Tudors."

The shortlist was selected by a panel of four eminent historians. Professor Carole Hillenbrand, an expert on Islamic history and Professor at the Universities of Edinburgh and St Andrews, joined the judging panel this year alongside Sir David Cannadine (Chair), Sir Richard Evans and Professor Sir Diarmaid MacCulloch.

Paul Ramsbottom, Chief Executive of the Wolfson Foundation which awards the Prize said: “The Wolfson History Prize is a public expression of the importance of history to the cultural life of the country.

"It recognises books that sparkle with brilliance, breaking new ground in our understanding of the past – and which are written in ways that appeal to a wide audience.

"The Prize is awarded by the Wolfson Foundation as part of a number of wider programmes of support for history and heritage –

ranging from museums to historic buildings to university research.”

All six shortlisted authors will be speaking at the British Academy on Wednesday May 9 for BBC Radio 3’s Free Thinking programme.