For the first rendition , 140 books were submitted , including a lot of nonfiction strongest " by far " in " a hybrid of travel-writing and reportage " ; weak in science and biography . Experts led by Armitstead selected a longlist of 11 and Borders book stores in Glasgow , London , Brighton and Leeds hosted reading groups that considered one book a week , September to November , and selected a shortlist of six . A panel of eight judges including two '' Guardian '' editors chose the winner . The newspaper called it " the first time the ordinary reading public have been involved in the selection of a major literary prize . " In the event , the 1999 reading groups selected a shortlist including six novels , and all four groups favoured the novel '' Ghostwritten '' by David Mitchell . Their second favourite was one of the travelogue and reporting hybrids , by Philip Gourevitch of '' The New Yorker '' . The judges chose the latter , '' We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families '' — " a horrifying but humane account of the Rwandan genocide , its causes and consequences " , the newspaper called it in August
Rwandan genocide
Rwandan genocide
Guardian First Book Award