The RBC Taylor Prize (2000–2020), formerly known as the Charles Taylor Prize, was a Canadian literary award, presented by the Charles Taylor Foundation to the best Canadian work of literary non-fiction. It was named for Charles P. B. Taylor, a noted Canadian historian and writer. Instituted in 2000, the 2020 prize was the final year the prize was awarded.
The prize was originally presented every two years until 2004, and became an annual award from 2004 onwards. The monetary value of the award increased over the years. The final award in 2020 had a monetary value of $30,000.
The award changed its name in December 2013, when RBC Wealth Management was announced as the new corporate sponsor."Charles Taylor Prize now known as RBC Taylor Prize; adds secondary award" . Victoria Times Colonist, December 9, 2013. Under RBC's sponsorship, the award added a second $10,000 award for an emerging Canadian literary non-fiction writer between the ages of 18 and 35, to be chosen by the winner of the main award. This award was presented for the first time at the 2014 ceremony.
In 2018, the new RBC Taylor Prize Emerging Writers Mentorship Program was unveiled. This was a professional development program designed to support the next generation of Canadian writers and was part of the RBC Taylor Prize Emerging Writers Award, a distinction that was given annually to a Canadian author whose work embodies the pursuit of excellence in literary non-fiction.
The mentorship program was made available to five Canadian non-fiction writers, who were selected in partnership with a national network of university and college writing programs. These students were paired with the 2018 RBC Taylor Prize shortlisted authors, who would help support their career development and growth.
In 2020, the organizers announced that the 2020 award would be the final presentation of the award.Jane van Koeverden, "RBC Taylor Prize, an annual $30K Canadian nonfiction prize, is ending after 2020". CBC Books, November 21, 2019.
Winners and nominees +RBC Taylor Prize winners and finalistsYearAuthorTitleResult2000Baltimore's MansionWinnerA Clearing in the Distance: Frederick Law Olmsted and North America in the Nineteenth CenturyFinalistAlways Give a Penny to a Blind ManLosing the DeadPaper Shadows: A Chinatown Childhood2002Jane AustenWinnerNotes from the Hyena's Belly: Memories of my Ethiopian BoyhoodFinalistThe Geometry of Love: Space, Time, Mystery and Meaning in an Ordinary ChurchThe Spinster and the Prophet: Florence Deeks, H.G. Wells and the Mystery of the Purloined PastThings That Must Not Be Forgotten: A Childhood in Wartime ChinaTime Lord: The Remarkable Canadian who Missed His Train and Changed the World2004Belonging: Home Away From HomeWinnerIf This Is Your Land, Where Are Your Stories?FinalistIn the Shadow of Silence: From Hitler Youth to Allied Internment, A Young Woman's Story of Truth and DenialLake of the Prairies: A Story of BelongingParis 1919: Six Months that Changed the World2005The Last Heathen: Encounters with Ghosts and Ancestors in MelanesiaWinnerA War Against Truth: An Intimate Account of the Invasion of IraqFinalistAcquainted With the Night: Excursions Through the World After DarkThere is a Season: A Memoir in the Garden2006Dead Man in ParadiseWinnerCurse of the Narrows: the Halifax Explosion of 1917FinalistThe Boys, or Waiting for the Electrician's DaughterThe Greek for Love: A Memoir of Corfu2007Of This Earth: A Mennonite Boyhood in the Boreal ForestWinnerCitizen of the World: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Vol. One: 1919-1968FinalistThe Judgment of Paris: The Revolutionary Decade That Gave the World Impressionism2008John A.: The Man Who Made Us: The Life and Times of John A. Macdonald, Vol. One: 1815-1867WinnerFrom Harvey River: A Memoir of My Mother and Her PeopleFinalistKasztner's Train: The True Story of Rezso Kasztner, Unknown Hero of the HolocaustLost Genius: The Story of a Forgotten Musical MaverickThe Film Club: A True Story of a Father and Son2009Shock Troops: Canadians Fighting the Great War 1917-1918WinnerAngel of Vengeance: The Girl Assassin, the Governor of St. Petersburg and Russia's Revolutionary WorldFinalistSugar: A Bittersweet History2010The Boy in the Moon: A Father's Search For His Disabled SonWinnerJust Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 1968-2000FinalistRené LévesqueThe Uncrowned King: The Sensational Rise of William Randolph Hearst2011Mordecai: The Life & TimesWinnerDefiant Spirits: The Modernist Revolution of the Group of SevenFinalistOn the Farm: Robert William Pickton and the Tragic Story of Vancouver’s Missing WomenThe Geography of Arrival: A MemoirThe Love Queen of Malabar: Memoir of a Friendship with Kamala Das2012The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary: A Canadian Story of Resilience and RecoveryWinnerAfflictions & Departures: EssaysFinalistEating Dirt: Deep Forests, Big Timber and Life with the Tree-Planting TribeInto the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of EverestThe Measure of a Man: The Story of a Father, a Son and a Suit2013Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith: Religion in American War and DiplomacyWinnerJourney with No Maps: A Life of P.K. PageFinalistLeonardo and The Last SupperThe Pursuit of Perfection: A Life of Celia FrancaWarlords: Borden, Mackenzie King, and Canada’s World Wars2014The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North AmericaWinnerArthur Erickson: An Architect’s LifeFinalistThe Dogs Are Eating Them Now: Our War in AfghanistanThe Massey Murder: A Maid, Her Master, and the Trial That Shocked a CountryThe Once and Future World: Nature As It Was, As It Is, As It Could Be2015They Left Us EverythingWinnerAnd Home Was Kariakoo: A Memoir of East AfricaFinalistBoundless: Tracing Land and Dream in a New Northwest PassageOne Day in August: The Untold Story Behind Canada’s Tragedy at DieppeThe Last Asylum: A Memoir of Madness in Our Times2016Stalin's Daughter: The Extraordinary and Tumultuous Life of Svetlana AlliluyevaWinnerDispatches from the Front: The Life of Matthew Halton, Canada’s Voice at WarFinalistSixty: The Beginning of the End, or the End of the Beginning?The Reason You WalkThis Is Happy2017Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water LiliesWinnerBy Chance Alone: A Remarkable True Story of Courage and Survival at AuschwitzFinalistMarconi: The Man Who Networked the WorldPumpkinflowers: A Soldier’s StoryThis Is Not My Life: A Memoir of Love, Prison, and Other Complications2018Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern CityWinnerIn the Name of HumanityFinalistIsland of the Blue Foxes: Disaster and Triumph on Bering’s Great Voyage to AlaskaLife on the Ground Floor: Letters from the Edge of Emergency MedicineYardwork: A Biography of an Urban Place2019Lands of Lost Borders: Out of Bounds on the Silk RoadsWinnerAll Things Consoled: A Daughter’s MemoirFinalistJan in 35 Pieces: A Memoir in MusicJust Let Me Look at You: On FatherhoodMamaskatch: A Cree Coming of Age2020Bush RunnerWinnerDeborah Dundas, "Winner of last RBC Taylor prize chokes back tears: ‘I wondered if anybody cared about what I wrote’". Toronto Star, March 2, 2020.Had It ComingFinalistHighway of TearsThe MosquitoThe Reality Bubble
RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Award The RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Award was instituted for the first time in 2014. The award was presented to an emerging writer selected by the winner of that year's primary award, and consisted of $10,000 and a mentorship from the writer who made the selection.
In 2018, the RBC Taylor Foundation also announced the creation of a mentorship program for writers who had not yet published their first non-fiction manuscript. Five writers would be selected for the mentorship each year, each receiving mentorship from one of the shortlisted main prize authors."New Mentorship Program announced for Emerging Writers". Canada NewsWire, February 7, 2018.
2014 - Leanne Betasamosake Simpson"Writer, scholar, storyteller and First Nations activist Leanne Simpson named recipient of inaugural RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Award". CNW Group, March 17, 2014. 2015 - Iain Reid"Iain Reid wins $10K RBC Taylor Prize Emerging Writer Award". CBC Books, May 11, 2015. 2016 - Adnan Khan"Awards: Adnan Khan receives RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Award". Quill & Quire, May 17, 2016. 2017 - Cassi Smith"Saskatchewan’s Cassi Smith wins $10,000 RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Award". The Globe and Mail, April 19, 2017. 2018 - Alicia Elliott"Alicia Elliott wins RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Award". The Globe and Mail, May 3, 2018. 2019 - Jessica J. Lee"Jessica J. Lee wins $10K RBC Taylor Prize Emerging Writer Award". CBC Books, April 16, 2019. 2020 - Simone Dalton
References
External links RBC Taylor Prize