Books on corporate consolidation, intimate partner violence vie for Balsillie Prize

TORONTO — Authors of books on corporate consolidation and intimate partner violence are among the finalists for an increased Balsillie Prize for Public Policy.

Writers’ Trust of Canada says this year’s winner will get $70,000, up from $60,000, in recognition of the prize’s 5th anniversary.

Runners-up will get $7,500, up from $5,000.

The annual award recognizes non-fiction books that advance policy discussions on social, political, economic and cultural topics.

The four finalists include Vince Beiser of Vancouver for “Power Metal: The Race for the Resources That Will Shape the Future” from Riverhead Books; and co-authors Vass Bednar of Ancaster, Ont. and Denise Hearn of New York for “The Big Fix: How Companies Capture Markets and Harm Canadians,” from Sutherland House Books.

Pamela Cross of Kingston, Ont. is up for “And Sometimes They Kill You: Confronting the Epidemic of Intimate Partner Violence,” from Between the Lines; while Stephen J.A. Ward of Fredericton is up for “Irrational Publics and the Fate of Democracy,” from McGill-Queen’s University Press.

The winner will be announced Nov. 25 in Toronto.

The prize is funded by the Balsillie Family Foundation as part of a $3 million commitment to support Canadian literature through Writers’ Trust.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2025.