BooksThe annual award, now in its fifth year, recognizes nonfiction that advances public discourse. The prize purse has been increased from $60,000 to $70,000 to the winner.The prize purse has been increased from $60,000 to $70,000 to the winnerCBC Books · Posted: Oct 01, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours agoThe four shortlisted titles for the 2025 Balsillie Prize for Public Policy. (Graphic by CBC)Four Canadian books covering a range of ideas and issues, from climate change to corporate concentration and intimate partner violence and the fate of modern democracy have been shortlisted for the 2025 Balsillie Prize for Public Policy.The annual prize recognizes nonfiction that advances public discourse.The award, administered by the Writers’ Trust of Canada, is now in its fifth year. 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. Co-authors will evenly divide prize monies. The 2026 CBC Short Story Prize is currently accepting submissions Vince Beiser is nominated for Power Metal, which examines how the metals used for technology and energy contribute to environmental havoc, political upheaval and rising violence.Beiser is a journalist and author based in British Columbia. Vass Bednar and Denise Hearn are nominated for their book The Big Fix, which looks at how a lack of market competition has led to the rise of corporate concentration across industries.Bednar is a Canadian author and policy thinker; co-author Hearn is a researcher and advisor based in New York City. Pamela Cross is recognized for her book And Sometimes They Kill You, which is a researched look at the rise of intimate partner violence in North America.Based in Kingston, Ont., Cross is an author, lawyer and women’s advocate. And Sometimes They Kill You was also shortlisted for the 2024 Donner Prize.Stephen J.A. Ward is on the shortlist for the book Irrational Publics and the Fate of Democracy. The book examines how extreme historical events can cause society to become irrational, intolerant and anti-democratic.Ward is an author and journalist based in Fredericton. The shortlisted titles are available in accessible formats through the Centre of Equitable Library Access. A jury composed of author and physician Samantha Nutt, policy expert Taki Sarantakis and digital strategist Scott Young selected this year’s finalists from 58 titles representing 35 Canadian publishing imprints. The prize is funded by the Balsillie Family Foundation, as part of its $3 million donation to Writers’ Trust to support Canadian literature. It’s the largest award of its kind for Canadian public policy titles.The foundation also funded the $60,000 Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, renamed in 2021 after Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson, two of the founders of Writers’ Trust of Canada. 5 Canadian writers shortlisted for 2025 Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize The Writers’ Trust of Canada is an organization that supports Canadian writers through literary awards, fellowships, financial grants, mentorships and more. It also gives out prizes in recognition of the year’s best in fiction, nonfiction and short story, as well as mid-career and lifetime achievement awards. The 2025 finalists for the Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize were announced on Sept. 17. The shortlist for the 2025 Hilary Weston Writers’ Prize for nonfiction was revealed on Sept. 10. Previous Balsillie Prize winners include We, The Data by Wendy H. Wong, Innovation in Real Places by Dan Breznitz and Dream States by John Lorinc. The winner will be revealed on Nov. 25 at a live event in Toronto.
Kingston author among finalists announced for 2025 Balsillie Prize for Public Policy
