Just In Time For Christmas - 11 top non-fiction books on Prize Longlist

 CHARLES TAYLOR PRIZE FOR LITERARY NON-FICTION ANNOUNCES FIRST LONGLIST FOR THE 2012 ANNUAL PRIZE

In response to the large number of publishers' submissions that are received each year and the opportunity to promote the best of these books in the all-important Christmas bookselling season, the trustees of the Charles Taylor Foundation have decided to make public the books that are still under consideration by the 2012 prize jury. Thirty-five publishers from across North America and around the world have submitted 115 titles this year. Today, jurors Allan M. Brandt, Stevie Cameron, and Susan Renouf announced the first longlist ever issued for The Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction. 
The longlisted titles are:

1. Something Fierce: Memoirs of a Revolutionary Daughter by Carmen Aguirre, published by Douglas & McIntyre
2. Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest by Wade Davis, published by Knopf Canada
3. The Patrol: Seven Days in the Life of a Canadian Soldier in Afghanistan by Ryan Flavelle, published by HarperCollins
4. Eating Dirt: Deep Forests, Big Timber, and Life with the Tree-Planting Tribe by Charlotte Gill, published by Greystone Books
5. Nation Maker: Sir John A. MacDonald: His Life, Our Times Volume Two: 1867 - 1891 by Richard Gwyn, published by Random House Canada
6. The Measure of a Man: The Story of a Father, a Son, and a Suit by J. J. Lee, published by McClelland & Stewart
7. Facing the Hunter: Reflections on a Misunderstood Way of Life by David Adams Richards, published by Doubleday Canada
8. Why Not? Fifteen Reasons to Live by Ray Robertson, published by Biblioasis
9. Afflictions and Departures: Essays by Madeline Sonik, published by Anvil Press
10. The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary: A Canadian Story of Resilience and Recovery by Andrew Westoll, published by HarperCollins
11. Bad Animals: A Father's Accidental Education in Autism by Joel Yanofsky, published by Viking Canada

Prize Founder Noreen Taylor commented: "Last year, at our 10th anniversary, the jury informed us that there were so many additional titles so close to being named to the shortlist that we realized it was time to issue a longlist. Now, as I look at the longlisted titles, it is clear that it was the right decision. Our jury has sorted through the 115 submissions and selected a longlist that is diverse in subject and treatment. Having already read a number of these books, I know that the jury has lived up to our mandate. They have Recognized Excellence."
The jurors for The 2012 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction are Allan M. Brandt, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University and a Pulitzer Prize finalist, award-winning author Stevie Cameron, and well-respected editor and consultant Susan Renouf. Full biographies of the jurors can be found here: http://www.thecharlestaylorprize.ca/2012/jury_12.asp 
The trustees of the Charles Taylor Foundation are Michael Bradley (Toronto), Judith Mappin (Montreal), David Staines (Ottawa), and Noreen Taylor (Toronto). They established The Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction to commemorate the life and work of the late Charles Taylor, one of Canada's foremost essayists and a prominent member of the Canadian literary community. Charles Taylor was a foreign correspondent with The Globe and Mail and the author of four books: Radical Tories; Reporter in Red China; Six Journeys: A Canadian Pattern; and Snow Job.
The Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction is awarded annually to the author whose book best combines an excellent command of the English language, an elegance of style, quality of thought, and subtlety of perception. The prize consists of $25,000 for the winning author and $2,000 for each of the remaining finalists. All of the shortlisted titles receive extensive national publicity and marketing support.
The Charles Taylor Foundation gratefully acknowledges the support of its partners: RBC Wealth Management (Presenting Sponsor); Windfields Farm (Major Sponsor); CBC Books, CNW Group, Quill & Quire, and The Globe and Mail (Media Sponsors); and Ben McNally Books, Indigo Books and Music, the International Festival of Authors (IFOA), and Kobo Inc. (In-Kind Sponsors).
The 2012 prize shortlist will be announced on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 and the winner on Monday, March 5, 2012 at events to be held in downtown Toronto.
For more information please visit: www.thecharlestaylorprize.ca
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To download high resolution images of the jury, visit:
www.thecharlestaylorprize.ca/2012/photogallery_12.asp