LONG LIST ANNOUNCED FOR 2016 CUNDILL PRIZE IN HISTORICAL LITERATURE

Six books to compete for $75,000 (US) grand prize

MONTREAL— September 20, 2016— The six books vying for the 2016 Cundill Prize in Historical Literature were announced today by Antonia Maioni, Dean of McGill University’s Faculty of Arts. “This year’s long list continues the Cundill Prize tradition of identifying outstanding works of historical writing that combine scholarship and wide appeal,” said Maioni, who serves as the Chair of the Cundill Prize. Now in its ninth year, the Cundill Prize is the world’s most lucrative international award for a non-fiction book, featuring a grand prize of $75,000 (US) and two Recognition of Excellence prizes of $10,000 (US) each. 

The three finalists will be announced the week of October 3. The winner of the grand prize will be announced at a gala awards ceremony in Toronto on Thursday, November 17, at the Shangri-La Hotel.

The six long-listed titles are:

·       Mary Beard - SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome (Liveright Publishing Corporation)

·       Robert J. Gordon - The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living Since the Civil War (Princeton University Press)

·       Thomas W. Laqueur - The Work of the Dead: A Cultural History of Mortal Remains (Princeton University Press)

·       Philippe Sands - East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity (Weidenfeld & Nicolson) 

·       David Wootton - The Invention of Science: A New History of the Scientific Revolution (Allen Lane)

·       Andrea Wulf - The Invention of Nature: Alexander Von Humboldt’s New World (Alfred A. Knopf, John Murray Publishers)

This year’s long list was chosen by the Cundill jury, which included Timothy Brook, Republic of China Chair, University of British Columbia; John Darwin, Professor of Global and Imperial History and Director, Oxford Centre for Global History, University of Oxford; David Frum, Senior Editor, The Atlantic; and Anna Porter, Co-founder, Key Porter Books and author (Buying a Better World: George Soros and Billionaire Philanthropy, The Ghosts of Europe).

About the Prize: The Cundill Prize is the world’s most important international prize for non-fiction historical literature. It was established in 2008 by McGill alumnus F. Peter Cundill, who passed away in January 2011. The prize is administered by McGill University’s Dean of Arts, with assistance from the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada (MISC), and is awarded annually to an individual who has published a book that has made a profound literary, social, and academic impact in the area of history.  

For more information on the Cundill Prize: www.cundillprize.com

Follow us on Twitter: @CundillPrize    

Long-listed authors are available for comment and interview. For further information, please contact:

Amirah El-Safty, Partnerships & Marketing Manager
amirah.el-safty@thewalrus.ca
416.971.5004 ext. 253

Cynthia Lee, Senior Communications Officer

McGill University

cynthia.lee@mcgill.ca

514-398-6754

The Charles Taylor Prize Announces Longlist - just in time for Christmas shopping!

Sixteen Canadian Authors Who Have Written Fifteen Non-Fiction Books

Are Named to the 2013 Taylor Prize Longlist

Noreen Taylor, founder of The Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction, is pleased to announce that for the second year in a row, gift buyers have a shopping list of books to buy for Christmas, and a window on the titles still in the running to be shortlisted by prize jurors Susanne Boyce, TV broadcast chief, Richard Gwyn, award-winning author and political columnist, and Joseph Kertes, educator and award-winning author. 

Mrs. Taylor commented, “Last year the prize announced its first ever longlist and found that sharing the jury’s selections to be so valuable to authors and publishers, that we have decided to do it again. Announcing the longlist at the height of the Christmas shopping season will help discriminating book buyers find the right gift for any number of people on their list. There’s nothing like a great read over the Christmas break."

The jury has selected their fifteen-book longlist from 129 titles written by Canadians, published between October 22, 2011 and October 21, 2012, and submitted to The Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction by 43 publishers from across North America.

The trustees of the Charles Taylor Foundation are pleased to announce the 2013 Taylor Prize longlist:

1.            The Pursuit of Perfection: A Life of Celia Franca by Carol Bishop-Gwyn (Toronto), published by Cormorant Books

2.            Warlords: Borden, Mackenzie King, and Canada’s World Wars by Tim Cook  (Ottawa), published by Allen Lane

3.            Walls: Travels Along the Barricades by Marcello Di Cintio (Calgary), published by Goose Lane Editions

4.            Journey with No Maps: A Life of P.K. Page by Sandra Djwa (Vancouver), published by McGill-Queen’s University Press

5.            Solar Dance: Genius, Forgery, and the Crisis of Truth in the Modern Age by Modris Eksteins (Toronto), published by Alfred A. Knopf Canada

6.            A Season in Hell: My 130 Days in the Sahara With Al Qaeda by Robert Fowler (Ottawa), published by HarperCollins Publishers

7.            Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else by Chrystia Freeland (New York City), published by Doubleday Canada

8.            March Forth: The Inspiring True Story of a Canadian Soldier’s Journey of Love,  Hope and Survival by Trevor and Debbie Greene (Nanaimo), published by HarperCollins Publishers

9.            Leonardo and The Last Supper by Ross King (Oxford), published by Bond Street Books

10.            Working the Dead Beat: 50 Lives That Changed Canada by Sandra Martin (Toronto), published by House of Anansi Press

11.            Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith: Religion in American War and Diplomacy by Andrew Preston (Cambridge), published by Alfred A. Knopf Canada

12.            What We Talk About When We Talk About War by Noah Richler (Toronto), published by Goose Lane Editions

13.            Chronic Condition: Why Canada’s Health-Care System Needs to be Dragged Into the 21st Century by Jeffrey Simpson (Ottawa), published by Allen Lane

14.            Epistolophilia: Writing the Life of Ona Šimaithe by Julija Šukys (Montreal), published by University of Nebraska Press

15.            The Universe Within: From Quantum to Cosmos by Neil Turok (Waterloo), published by House of Anansi Press

About The Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction

The Charles Taylor Prize commemorates Charles Taylor’s pursuit of excellence in the field of literary non-fiction. The prize will be awarded to the author whose book best combines a superb command of the English language, an elegance of style, and a subtlety of thought and perception. The prize consists of $25,000 for the winner and $2,000 for each of the remaining finalists, as well as promotional support to help all of the nominated books to stand out in the media, bookstores, and libraries. The authors whose books go on to be shortlisted for the 2013 prize will be brought to Toronto for publicity opportunities and the awards ceremony.

The shortlist will be revealed at a press conference on Wednesday, January 9th and the winner will be named at a gala luncheon and awards ceremony at the King Edward hotel in downtown Toronto on Monday, March 4, 2013.

Established in 1998, The Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction is Canada's most prestigious award for literary non-fiction. The trustees of the Charles Taylor Foundation are Michael Bradley (Toronto), Judith Mappin (Montreal), David Staines (Ottawa), and Noreen Taylor (Toronto).

The Charles Taylor Foundation gratefully acknowledges the support of its partners. The presenting sponsor of The Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction is RBC Wealth Management; its Major Sponsor is Metropia; its exclusive newspaper sponsor is The Globe and Mail; its media sponsors are CBC Books; Canada Newswire (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, Indigo Books and Music, The King Edward hotel, and Kobo Inc.

For more information please visit: www.thecharlestaylorprize.ca and follow us at www.twitter.com/taylorprize

— 30 —

Media contact: Stephen Weir & Associates

Stephen Weir: Direct: 416.489.5868 | Cell: 416-801-3101 | stephen@stephenweir.com

Linda Crane: Direct: 905-257-6033 | Cell: 416-727-0112 | cranepr@cogeco.ca

To download high resolution images of the jury, visit:

www.thecharlestaylorprize.ca/2013/photogallery_13.asp

To download high resolution images of the longlist books, visit:

www.thecharlestaylorprize.ca/2013/longlist_13.asp

LONGLIST, LONG TIME COMING - CHARLES TAYLOR PRIZE ON MONDAY

The Charles Taylor Prize For Literary Non-Fiction To Announce Its First Longlist On Monday Morning 

TORONTO, Dec. 8, 2011 /CNW/ - The  Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction jury will announce on Monday, December 12th, its longlist of book titles.  This is the first time that the annual prize will be issuing the names of the authors now in contention for the 2012 Prize. The 2012 Prize Jury members are Allan M. Brandt, Stevie Cameron, and Susan Renouf.

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 longlist will be issued at 8am Monday, December 12th by CNW. The 2012 prize shortlist will be announced on Tuesday, January 10 and the winner on Tuesday, March 5, at events to be held in downtown Toronto. The prize website is: www.thecharlestaylorprize.ca

For further information: Stephen Weir
Charles Taylor Prize Publicist | stephen@stephenweir.com
or sweir5492@rogers.com
2482 Yonge Street, Unit 45032, Toronto, ONT.
CANADA. M4P 3E3
Tel: 416-489-5868 | Fax: 416-488-6518
www.stephenweir.com www.thecharlestaylorprize.ca