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Cundill Prize in Historical Literature finalists revealed

Christopher Manfredi, dean of McGill University’s Faculty of Arts, announced the finalists for the seventh annual Cundill Prize in Historical Literature yesterday.

The prize is administered with the help of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, and is awarded to an author whose book has had a distinct social, academic, and literary impact on the field of historical writing.

The recipient, who will be revealed at a ceremony in Toronto on Nov. 20, will be awarded $75,000 U.S., making the prize the richest international award for a non-fiction title. Each runner-up will receive $10,000 U.S.

This year’s jury comprises author and The Atlantic senior editor David Frum; University of Massachusetts public history program professor/director and graduate program director Marla R. Miller; Yale University history professor and inaugural Cundill Prize winner Stuart Schwartz; Trent University founding president and professor emeritus Thomas H.B. Symons; and Huffington Post Canada Ottawa bureau chief Althia Raj.

The following three finalists were chosen from 165 submissions by 70 international publishers:

  • Gary Bass, The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger and a Forgotten Genocide (Knopf)
  • Richard Overy, The Bombing War: Europe 1939-45 (Allen Lane)
  • David Von Reybrouck, Congo: The Epic History of a People (Ecco Press)

The winner will be revealed at a ceremony in Toronto on Nov. 20.