Indigenous history, climate change books nab Shaughnessy Cohen Prize nominations

Books about government intervention in Inuit and Indigenous communities, so-called smart cities and climate change have been nominated for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing.

The winner of the $25,000 award, administered by the Writer’s Trust of Canada, will be announced May 10 at the Politics and the Pen gala in Ottawa.

Norma Dunning was nominated for “Kinauvit?: What’s Your Name? The Eskimo Disc System and a Daughter’s Search for her Grandmother,” while Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii) made the shortlist for “Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation.”

Dale Eisler is in contention for “From Left to Right: Saskatchewan’s Political and Economic Transformation.”

Also nominated are Josh O’Kane for “Sideways: The City Google Couldn’t Buy” and Chris Turner’s “How to Be a Climate Optimist: Blueprints for a Better World.”

The five finalists were chosen by jurors Terri E. Givens, Nik Nanos and Jacques Poitras.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 29, 2023.