It was one of the toughest literary prizes in recent years to predict, with a shortlist that boasted some of the most impressive names in Canadian non-fiction. The 2016 RBC Taylor Prize for Non-fiction jury, made up of Susanne Boyce, Joseph Kertes and Stephen J. Toope, managed a difficult task, selecting from five excellent contenders to award the prize to Rosemary Sullivan for Stalin's Daughter: The Extraordinary and Tumultuous Life of Svetlana Alliluyeva (Harpercollins Canada).
The brilliant Sullivan, widely considered the finest biographer in the country, adds the Taylor Prize to a bevy of impressive accolades already awarded to the book, including the Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction and the B.C. National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction. A beaming Sullivan accepted her trophy, and in her brief remarks dedicated the prize to Chrese Evans, the daughter of her book's subject. Sullivan and Evans became acquainted through Sullivan's project, and she pointed to Evans, an American and resident of Portland, Oregon, as proof of good triumphing over evil.
The other finalists will each receive $2,000 in recognition of the excellence of their work. The other authors on the shortlist are Ian Brown (nominated for Sixty: The Beginning of the End, or the End of the Beginning?, published by Random House Canada, Camilla Gibb (nominated for This Is Happy, published by Doubleday Canada), David Halton (nominated for Dispatches from the Front: Matthew Halton, Canada's Voice at War, published by McClelland & Stewart) and Wab Kinew (nominated for The Reason You Walk, published by Viking Canada).
Sullivan will announce her choice for the RBC Taylor Prize Emerging Writer’s Award in the coming weeks. This unique prize offers $10,000 to an emerging writer chosen by the RBC Taylor Prize winner that year, and includes the opportunity for a mentorship with the winning author.
The RBC Taylor Prize was founded by Noreen Taylor, to honour the memory of her late husband, author Charles Taylor.
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