Thoughtful debate happens when all sides are well-read 📚 Congratulations to the 2025 #BalsilliePrize for Public Policy finalists! ◢ Vince Beiser (Vancouver) for Power Metal: The Race for the Resources That Will Shape the Future (Riverhead Books) “As Canada looks to maximize its geological endowment amidst an increasingly uncertain geopolitical landscape, this book raises essential considerations and uncomfortable questions for policymakers and citizens alike.” —jury citation ◢ Vass Bednar (Ancaster, ON) and Denise Hearn (New York City) for The Big Fix: How Companies Capture Markets and Harm Canadians (Sutherland House) “Denise Hearn and Vass Bednar take a hard and thoughtful look at the impact large-scale monopolies are having on the lives, choices, and pocketbooks of Canadians, and how it is stifling both competition and innovation within the country’s economy.” —jury citation ◢ Pamela Cross (Kingston, ON) for And Sometimes They Kill You: Confronting the Epidemic of Intimate Partner Violence (Between the Lines) “And Sometimes They Kill You is a devastating, powerful, and comprehensive analysis of the epidemic of intimate partner violence in Canada: why it continues to happen and the ongoing gaps in legislation and policing that facilitate such tragic outcomes for women and children.”—jury citation ◢ Stephen J.A. Ward (Fredericton) for Irrational Publics and the Fate of Democracy (McGill-Queen's University Press) “Ward’s insightful exploration of the interaction between populations and environments, provides readers an understanding of how we got here, where we are going, and how to make things better before they get worse.” —jury citation This year marks the 5th anniversary of the award, which is funded by the Balsillie Family Foundation as part of a $3 million commitment to supporting Canadian literature through Writers’ Trust. In recognition of the anniversary, the prize purse has been increased from $60,000 to $70,000 to the winner, and $5,000 to $7,500 to each finalist. Find prize details and more at https://bit.ly/4g8jVIT (fb)

Thoughtful debate happens when all sides are well-read 📚 The 2025 #BalsilliePrize shortlist announced Wednesday! Jurors Samantha Nutt, Taki Sarantakis, and Scott Young selected this year’s top public policy books from 58 titles representing 35 Canadian publishing imprints. ◢ Samantha Nutt is an author, humanitarian, and the founder and president of War Child Canada and War Child USA. She has worked with children and their families at the frontline of many of the world’s major crises including in Afghanistan, Somalia, and Sudan. A leading authority on public health, war, international aid, and foreign policy, Nutt is also a staff physician at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto and assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. She is the author of Damned Nations and currently serves as Council Lead for the McMaster Canada Project, examining the future of Canada and its implications for Canadian policy. ◢ Taki Sarantakis is the president of the Canada School of Public Service, having previously served as associate secretary at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. Sarantakis spent most of his career at Infrastructure Canada, including as assistant deputy minister of policy and communications. In 2011, Sarantakis was awarded Canada’s Public Service Award of Excellence in Public Policy, and in 2013 he was a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. He is a graduate of the Rotman School of Management’s Institute of Corporate Directors Education Program, holding the ICD.D designation. ◢ Scott Young is director of strategic initiatives and director of geotechnology with Eurasia Group, a geopolitical risk advisory firm, where he focuses on the intersection of critical and emerging technologies and geopolitics. Young is a former CivicAction DiverseCity fellow, a member of the Banff Forum, and part of the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt’s Responsible Leaders Network. Originally from Langley, British Columbia, Young holds degrees from Simon Fraser University, the University of Warwick, and the University of Oxford. 2025 winner to be revealed on November 25. https://bit.ly/4g8jVIT (fb)