Charles Taylor Prize for Literary non-fiction to be awarded in Toronto today

TORONTO – One of five non-fiction authors will be $25,000 richer today after the winner of the Charles Taylor Prize is revealed at an event in Toronto.

In all, 129 books submitted by 43 publishers were considered for the award, before jurors Susanne Boyce, Richard Gwyn and Joseph Kertes chose the finalists:

— Ottawa historian Tim Cook’s “Warlords: Borden, Mackenzie King, and Canada’s World Wars” (Allen Lane)

— Vancouver-based Sandra Djwa’s “Journey with No Maps: A Life of P.K. Page” (McGill-Queen’s University)

— Saskatchewan-born Ross King’s “Leonardo and The Last Supper” (Bond Street Books), which won a Governor General’s Literary Award

— Ontario native Andrew Preston’s “Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith: Religion in American War and Diplomacy” (Knopf Canada)

— Carol Bishop-Gwyn of Toronto’s “The Pursuit of Perfection: A Life of Celia Franca” (Cormorant Books)

Last year’s winner was Toronto author Andrew Westoll for “The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary: A Canadian Story of Resilience and Recovery.”