History's Norman Hillmer Shortlisted for Shaughnessy Cohen Prize

March 4, 2016

�Ӱ�ԭ�� History Prof. Norman Hillmer has been shortlisted for the for his book .

The book, released in late-2015, delves into the legacy of O.D. Skelton, the widely regarded architect of the Canadian foreign service and longtime Under-Secretary of State for External Affairs.

Now in its sixteenth year, the prize is awarded annually for a book of literary nonfiction that captures a political subject of relevance to Canadian readers and has the potential to shape or influence thinking on Canadian political life. The winning work combines compelling new insights with depth of research and is of significant literary merit. The prize particularly values books which provide the general reader with an informed, unique perspective on the practice of Canadian politics, its players or its principles.

The winner of the prize, awarded by the , will be announced on April 20, 2016 at , a celebration of Canadian political and literary culture held at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa. The finalists were selected by a jury composed of military historian Tim Cook, author and Globe and Mail journalist Robyn Doolittle, and McGill University professor and political commentator Antonia Maioni. The prize winner will receive $25,000, while each finalist will receive $2,500.

Norman Hillmer (photo by Michael Hillmer)

Hillmer has also been named as a finalist for a Canada Prize for the same book. Other finalists from �Ӱ�ԭ�� are History Prof. Michel Hogue and French Prof. Patricia Smart. The official announcement of the winners will take place during the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences in Calgary on April 11, 2016.

“It pleases me enormously to see Oscar Skelton, who spent his life in the shadows, getting the recognition he deserves,” said Hillmer. “The only thing that would please me more would be if two members of the history department were nominated for the Canada Prize, and that in fact turns out to be the case. So my pleasure is doubled.”