''Prospect'' is a monthly
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
general-interest magazine, specialising in politics, economics and current affairs. Topics covered include British and other European, as well as US politics, social issues, art, literature, cinema, science, the media, history, philosophy and psychology. ''Prospect'' features a mixture of lengthy analytic articles, first-person reportage, one-page columns and shorter items.
Background
The magazine was launched in October 1995 by
David Goodhart, then a senior correspondent for the ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' (''FT''), and chairman
Derek Coombs. Goodhart came up with the idea of producing an essay-based monthly general-interest magazine—a form unknown in Britain at that time—while covering German reunification as
Bonn
Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...
correspondent for the ''FT''.
Some prominent intellectuals have featured in ''Prospect'', including economists
Joseph Stiglitz,
Sen and
Angus Deaton, writers such as
Lionel Shriver,
Clive James
Clive James (born Vivian Leopold James; 7 October 1939 – 24 November 2019) was an Australian critic, journalist, broadcaster, writer and lyricist who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1962 until his death in 2019.[Toni Morrison
Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist and editor. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically accl ...]
and
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight chi ...
, as well as scientists like
Martin Rees. Notable features of the magazine include debates of two writers with opposing views, discussions among a series of experts with varying views, an edited transcript of which is published in the magazine, and interviews with political and cultural figures (examples include
Orhan Pamuk,
Paul Wolfowitz and
Hilary Mantel
Dame Hilary Mary Mantel ( ; born Thompson; 6 July 1952 – 22 September 2022) was a British writer whose work includes historical fiction, personal memoirs and short stories. Her first published novel, ''Every Day Is Mother's Day'', was releas ...
).
''Prospect'' received worldwide attention in October 2005 when it published its list of the world's top 100 public intellectuals, which included
Ziauddin Sardar,
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a ...
,
Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian Medieval studies, medievalist, philosopher, Semiotics, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular ...
,
Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biology, evolutionary biologist, zoologist, science communicator and author. He is an Oxford fellow, emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford, and was Simonyi Professor for the Publ ...
,
Steven Pinker
Steven Arthur Pinker (born September 18, 1954) is a Canadian-American cognitive psychology, cognitive psychologist, psycholinguistics, psycholinguist, popular science author, and public intellectual. He is an advocate of evolutionary psycholo ...
and
Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British and American author and journalist. He was the author of Christopher Hitchens bibliography, 18 books on faith, religion, culture, politics, and literature. He was born ...
. When the magazine asked readers to vote for the top intellectual on the list, Chomsky emerged the winner. Subsequent lists continued to get attention. Dawkins claimed the top spot in 2013.
Amartya Sen
Amartya Kumar Sen (; born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist and philosopher. Sen has taught and worked in England and the United States since 1972. In 1998, Sen received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions ...
won in 2014 and
Thomas Piketty was the winner in 2015. After a four year absence, the award was revived by
Caucher Birkar in 2019.
In 2011 ''Prospect'' published the winning
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...
of the
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...
's V. S. Pritchett Memorial Prize,
Carys Davies' ‘'The Redemption of Galen Pike'’.
Policy positions
The magazine features contributions from authors spanning the political spectrum. It tends to avoid a "line" on specific policy issues, claiming to offer a "