Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing

All Canadian-based publishers of original manuscripts may enter two books; companies publishing more than ten eligible nonfiction titles during the 2012 calendar year may add one book for every additional ten eligible books (or fraction thereof) on their nonfiction list, up to a maximum of five. For example, a publisher with a list of 18 qualifying nonfiction books would be entitled to submit three — two for the first ten and one for the next ten.^[2]

A three-person jury selects the winner and finalists of the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. The jury acts independently of the Writers’ Trust and is charged with interpreting the mandate and eligibility criteria of the prize, as well as determining which of the submissions best reflect the prize mandate. In evaluating the writing, literary merit is the sole criterion. Each juror may request an unlimited number of additional titles from the publisher's lists. Such titles are on equal footing with all other submissions, provided that their publishers agree to abide by the conditions laid out in this document. The judgment of the jury in selecting the winners, determining eligibility, and interpreting these rules is final.