In announcing the jurors for the 2019 Lionel Gelber Prize, Patricia Rubin, Chair of the Lionel Gelber Prize and The Lionel Gelber Foundation said: “Created in memory of the Canadian scholar, diplomat and author Lionel Gelber, we are gratified that the Prize attracts such distinguished jurors, year after year.”

The Jury for the 2019 Lionel Gelber Prize is as follows:

  • Janice Gross Stein, Jury Chair (Toronto, Canada)
  • Anne Applebaum (Warsaw, Poland and London, England)
  • Sir Lawrence Freedman (London, England)
  • Shalini Randeria (Vienna, Austria and Geneva, Switzerland)
  • Frank E. Sysyn (Toronto, Canada)

Key Dates:

The Jury will announce its shortlist of five books on Tuesday, January 29, 2019, in conjunction with the release of podcast interviews with each of the finalists in conversation with Robert Steiner and presented in partnership with Focus Asset Management. The winner will be revealed on Tuesday, February 26 and invited to speak at a free public event in Toronto at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy on Wednesday, April 10, 2019.

About the Prize:

The Lionel Gelber Prize, a literary award for the world’s best non-fiction book in English on foreign affairs that seeks to deepen public debate on significant international issues, was founded in 1989 by Canadian diplomat Lionel Gelber. A cash prize of $15,000 is awarded to the winner. The award is presented annually by The Lionel Gelber Foundation, in partnership with Foreign Policy magazine and the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto.

Learn more about this year’s jury.