Charles Taylor Prize Longlist Announced Just In Time For Holiday Book Buying
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 Ecksteins (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.
