CP’s Mike Blanchfield and prof Fen Hampson among finalists for political book prize

Canadian Press international affairs writer Mike Blanchfield and Carleton University professor Fen Hampson have been nominated for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing for their book on China’s detention of the Canadians known as “the two Michaels.”

“The Two Michaels: Innocent Canadian Captives and High Stakes Espionage in the US-China Cyber War,” published by Sutherland House, is among five titles on the short list for the $25,000 honour.

Also in the running is former MP Jody Wilson-Raybould for her memoir “’Indian’ in the Cabinet: Speaking Truth to Power,” published by HarperCollins Canada, detailing her tumultuous tenure as Canada’s first Indigenous justice minister.

Other contenders include former Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz for “The Next Age of Uncertainty: How the World Can Adapt to a Riskier Future,” from Allen Lane Canada, and Toronto Star journalist Joanna Chiu’s “China Unbound: A New World Disorder,” published by House of Anansi Press.

Rounding out the finalists is “Flora!: A Woman in a Man’s World,” from McGill-Queen’s University Press, the posthumously released memoir of politician Flora MacDonald, co-authored by journalist Geoffrey Stevens.

The winner will be announced on May 17 at the annual Politics and the Pen gala in Ottawa. Each finalist receives $2,500.

The Shaughnessy Cohen Prize is handed out annually to a literary non-fiction title capturing a political subject of relevance to Canadian readers with the potential to shape or influence thinking on political life within the country.

The award is presented by the Writers’ Trust of Canada, and was established in 2000 in honour of the late Windsor, Ont., MP Shaughnessy Cohen.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2022.