TORONTO — Books about “slow politics,” the 1995 Quebec referendum, climate change, the voices of aboriginals, and Nova Scotia’s recent one-term NDP government have been nominated for the $25,000 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing.
The winner of the award, administered by the Writers’ Trust of Canada, will be announced at the Politics and the Pen gala in Ottawa on March 11.
The five finalists, chosen by prize jurors Denise Chong, Terry Glavin and Jane Taber, are:
Joseph Heath for “Enlightenment 2.0: Restoring Sanity to Our Politics, Our Economy, and Our Lives” (HarperCollins Publishers)
Chantal Hebert with Jean Lapierre for “The Morning After: The 1995 Quebec Referendum and the Day that Almost Was” (Knopf Canada)
Naomi Klein for “This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate” (Knopf Canada)
John Ralston Saul for “The Comeback: How Aboriginals Are Reclaiming Power and Influence” (Viking Canada)
Graham Steele for “What I Learned About Politics: Inside the Rise-and Collapse-of Nova Scotia’s NDP Government” (Nimbus Publishing)
Each author receives $2,500 for making the final list of contenders. In its 15th year, the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing is awarded each year to a literary non-fiction book on politics.
