Last night at one of those Zoom events that nowadays have to fill in for rip-roaring, boozy gala dinners (well, I wasn't invited anyway), the Writers' Trust announced that Chief Justice of Canada (retired) Beverley McLachlin wins this year Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for political writing for her memoir Truth Be Told.
I've sorta come around to the Cohen Prize's very broad idea of what constitutes political writing. (A judge's memoir? Sure, why not.) And this is one prizewinner I have actually read, and it is a very accomplished book. Maybe Bev cannot do everything well, but she can do a lot of things well, and writing is one of them. Time management must be another!
The other nominees make a pretty distinguished list. There is no overlap between these books and the shortlist for the Donner Prize in Public Policy, which I noted the other day.
Canada on the United Nations Security Council: A Small Power on a Large Stage, Adam Chapnick
Peace and Good Order: The Case for Indigenous Justice in Canada, Harold R. Johnson
Claws of the Panda: Beijing’s Campaign of Influence and Intimidation in Canada, Jonathan Manthorpe
Canadian Justice, Indigenous Injustice: The Gerald Stanley and Colten Boushie Case, Kent Roach
