Ben
McNally (l), the owner of Toronto's famed Ben McNally Bookstore, rings
in a dozen books for Noreen Taylor, the founder of the RBC Taylor Prize
and Vijay
Parmar (r), President, PH&N Investment Counsel, RBC Wealth
Management, and a Prize trustee look at the dozen non-fiction books
that have been named to the 2015 RBC Taylor Prize Longlist
Compilation
of twelve literary non-fiction titles includes two previous Taylor Prize
winning authors
Noreen Taylor, chair of the Charles Taylor
Foundation and founder of the RBC Taylor Prize today announced the Longlist for
2015. Founded in 1998, the RBC Taylor Prize is Canada’s most prestigious award
for literary non-fiction. This year’s jurors, Ms. Kevin Garland, Martin Levin,
and Andrew Preston, reviewed and debated the merits of 118 submissions from
Canadian authors. The following twelve longlisted books are undergoing further
scrutiny as the jurors work toward finalizing the 2015 Shortlist, scheduled for
release at a press conference on Wednesday, January 14th, 2015 at the Omni King
Edward Hotel. The winner announcement will be made on March 2nd also at the
Omni King Edward Hotel.
“The 2015 Longlist illustrates the amazing growth
and maturation of the genre of literary non-fiction in this country,” explains
Mrs. Taylor, “The dozen authors whose works our jury has chosen have written
books that clearly demonstrate Canada’s expanded interest in ALL matters that
effect the Global Village. Be they resident here in Canada, or the UK or
Europe, our treasured authors articulate with a shared Canadian vision. The RBC
Taylor Prize sees the release of this Longlist, at the height of the holiday
gift giving season, as an opportunity for readers to familiarize themselves
with that unique Canadian voice.”
The 2014 RBC Taylor Prize Longlist:
1. The
Necessary War, Volume One by TIM COOK
(Ottawa, Ontario), published by Penguin Canada
2. The
End of Absence: Reclaiming What We’ve Lost in a World of Constant Connection by MICHAEL HARRIS (Toronto, Ontario), published by
HarperCollins Canada
3. They
Left Us Everything by PLUM JOHNSON
(Toronto, Ontario), published by Penguin Canada
4. This
Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate
by NAOMI KLEIN (Toronto, Ontario), published by Knopf Canada
5. Berlin:
Imagine a City by RORY MacLEAN (London,
England), published by Hachette Book Group Canada
6. Happy
City by CHARLES MONTGOMERY (Vancouver,
British Columbia), published by DOUBLEDAY Canada
7. One
Day in August: The Untold Story Behind Canada’s Tragedy at Dieppe by DAVID O’KEEFE (Montreal, Quebec), published by
Random House Canada
8. Warsaw
1944: Hitler, Himmler, and the Warsaw Uprising
by ALEXANDRA RICHIE (Warsaw, Poland), published by HarperCollins Canada
9. Puckstruck:
Distracted, Delighted and Distressed by Canada’s Hockey Obsession by STEPHEN SMITH (Toronto, Ontario), published by
Greystone Books
10. The
Last Asylum: A Memoir of Madness in our Times
by BARBARA TAYLOR (London, England), published by Hamish Hamilton Canada
11. And
Home Was Kariakoo: A Memoir of East Africa
by M. G. VASSANJI (Toronto, Ontario), published by Doubleday Canada
12. Boundless by KATHLEEN WINTER (Montreal, Quebec), published by
House of Anansi Press
There are two Longlisted authors with previous
affiliations with the Prize this year; they are Dr. Tim Cook and Charles
Montgomery. Tim Cook won the 2009 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction
for Shock Troops: Canadians Fighting The Great War, 1917-1918. His Warlords: Borden, Mackenzie King and
Canada’s World Wars was a finalist for the
2013 Prize and he served as a juror in 2010. Charles Montgomery won the 2005
Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction for The Last Heathen:
Encounters with Ghosts and Ancestors in Melanesia.
About The RBC Taylor Prize
The RBC Taylor Prize 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 runners
up. The Prize has established the RBC Taylor Prize Emerging Writer’s Award,
which provides $10,000 to an emerging author. The RBC Taylor Prize winner
chooses the emerging author each new Prize cycle.
The Emerging Writer’s award was established in 2013
to provide recognition and assistance to a Canadian published author who is
working on a significant writing project, preferably but not limited to
literary non-fiction. Through mentorship from the nominating author, and a
$10,000 cash award, it is intended that the writer will be able to progress
toward the creation of a first draft work.
The trustees of the Charles Taylor Foundation are:
Michael Bradley (Toronto), Vijay Parmar (Toronto), David Staines (Ottawa), and
Noreen Taylor (Toronto).
The presenting sponsor of the RBC Taylor Prize is
RBC Wealth Management, its Major Sponsor is Metropia, its media sponsors are The
Globe and Mail (exclusive newspaper
sponsor), CNW Group, The Huffington Post Canada, Maclean’s magazine, and Quill & Quire magazine; its in-kind sponsors are Authors at Harbourfront Centre, Ben
McNally Books, Event Source, Kobo Inc., and The Omni King Edward Hotel.
To download high-resolution images of these titles
please go to:
For more information please visit:
www.rbctaylorprize.ca
Visit RBC Taylor Prize on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/taylorprize
Follow us on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/RBCTaylorPrize
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Media contact: Stephen Weir & Associates
Stephen Weir: 416-489-5868 | cell: 416-801-3101 |
sweir5492@rogers.com
Noreen Taylor and Vijay Parmar enjoy the 12 non-fiction titles that are on the 2015 RBC Taylor Prize Longlist. Standing in front of a table covered with the nominated books Ms. Taylor, the founder of the RBC Taylor Prize, looks at hard copy copies while Prize trustee and President, PH&N Investment Counsel, RBC Wealth Management, Vijay Parmar uses a new Kobo to read the same books electronically. The picture was taken inside the downtown Toronto Ben McNally Bookstore on Bay Street.
Ben McNally, Noreen Taylor and Vijay Parmar and the Longlist
Ben McNally (l), the owner of Toronto's famed Ben McNally Bookstore, Noreen Taylor, the founder of the RBC Taylor Prize and Vijay
Parmar (r), President, PH&N Investment Counsel, RBC Wealth
Management, and a Prize trustee look at the dozen non-fiction books
that have been named to the 2015 RBC Taylor Prize Longlist
Below: Ben McNally (l), the owner of Toronto's famed Ben McNally Bookstore, Noreen Taylor, the founder of the RBC Taylor Prize and Vijay
Parmar (r), President, PH&N Investment Counsel, RBC Wealth
Management, and a Prize trustee look at the dozen non-fiction books
that have been named to the 2015 RBC Taylor Prize Longlist. The picture was taken inside the downtown Toronto Ben McNally Bookstore on Bay Street.
