2015 Cundill Prize in Historical Literature finalists
Today the jury for the world鈥檚 most lucrative award for historical non-fiction writing announced this year's finalist list.听 There are now three potential winners in the running for the $75,000 US 2015 Cundill Prize.
The three finalists are:
- Sven Beckert 鈥� Empire of Cotton: A Global History (Alfred A. Knopf)
- Susan Pedersen 鈥� The Guardians: The League of Nations and the Crisis of Empire (Oxford University Press)
- Bettina Stangneth 鈥� Eichmann before Jerusalem: The Unexamined Life of a Mass Murderer (Bodley Head)听听听听听听听听听听听听
This year鈥檚 Cundill jury includes听Anthony Cary,听British Commissioner of the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan;听David Frum, author and editor for听The Atlantic;听Chad Gaffield, University of Ottawa Professor听of History and University Research Chair in Digital Scholarship;听Maya Jasanoff, Coolidge Professor of History and Harvard College Professor at Harvard University听 (Liberty鈥檚 Exiles:听 American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World);听and author Anna Porter, (Buying a Better World: George Soros and Billionaire Philanthropy, The Ghosts of Europe) and winner听of the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing.
听鈥淭he Cundill Prize jury is looking for that certain book that is scholarly but that is written in a language that speaks to an audience outside the academy,鈥� said Prof. Hudson Meadwell, who serves as Administrative Chair of the Cundill Prize. 鈥� The Cundill Prize is a wonderful form of recognition.听 It is a relatively new award and it is gaining more impact with each passing award. It is now recognized as the most important historical prize in the English language.鈥�
The Cundill Prize accepts books published in English 鈥� or translated to English 鈥� in the area of history.听 This year the Prize received 159 titles from publishers around the globe. In addition to the Grand Prize, two 鈥淩ecognition of Excellence鈥� awards of $10,000 U.S. each, are granted to the runners-up.听 There were six books in the jury鈥檚 original shortlist; today鈥檚 announcement narrows the field to just three titles.
The Grand Prize winner of the 2015 Cundill Prize will be announced at a gala awards ceremony in Toronto on Monday, November 2, at the Shangri-La Hotel. Famed Canadian author (The Massey Murder; Gold Diggers, Striking It Rich in the Klondike)听and speaker听Charlotte Gray will host. 听听
The 2014 Cundill Prize was won by Gary J. Bass, a professor of politics at Princeton University for his detailing of a forgotten / ignored mass tragedy in Bangladesh. The book The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide was published in 2013 by Alfred A. Knopf. Professor Bass will be the keynote speaker at the annual Cundill Prize Lecture on October 8, 2015. The afternoon lecture will be held at Birks Heritage Chapel, 2nd floor 3520 University Street in Montreal.
About the Prize:听The Cundill Prize in Historical Literature at 缅北强奸 is the world鈥檚 most important international nonfiction historical literature prize. It was established in 2008 by 缅北强奸 alumnus F. Peter Cundill, who passed away in January 2011. The prize is administered by 缅北强奸鈥檚 Dean of Arts, with the help of the 缅北强奸 Institute for the Study of Canada (MISC), and is awarded annually to an individual who has published a book determined to have had a profound literary, social and academic impact in the area of history.听听
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PHOTO: Laurie Devine
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