J. Anthony Lukas Prize Project Awards for Exceptional Works of Nonfiction
The 2012 J. Anthony Lukas Prize Project Awards for exceptional works of American nonfiction were presented at the Nieman Foundation on May 1, 2012. Journalist and author Jonathan Alter moderated a panel discussion with the winners at the event.
Presented annually by the Nieman Foundation and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, the Lukas Prize Project Awards recognize excellence in nonfiction writing that exemplifies the work of J. Anthony Lukas, a 1969 Nieman Fellow and Pulitzer Prize-winning author.
The project’s history prize honors the late Mark Lynton, a business executive and author who was an avid proponent of history writing. The Lynton family has sponsored the Lukas Prize Project since its inception.
2012 winners and finalists J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize
($10,000) - Recognizes superb examples of nonfiction writing that exemplify literary grace, a commitment to serious research and social concern.
Winner: Daniel J. Sharfstein
The Invisible Line: Three American Families and the Secret Journey from Black to White
Finalist: The late Manning Marable
Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention
Judges for the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize were Jefferson Cowie, Ellen Fitzpatrick, Jeffrey Frank, and Isabel Wilkerson.
The Mark Lynton History Prize
($10,000) - Awarded to the book-length work of history, on any subject, that best combines intellectual or scholarly distinction with felicity of expression.
Winner: Sophia Rosenfeld
Common Sense: A Political History
Finalists:
Michael Willrich
Pox: An American History
Craig Harline
Conversions: Two Family Stories from the Reformation and Modern America
Judges for the Mark Lynton History Prize were Peter Galison, Stephen Mihm and Samuel Moyn.
The J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award
($30,000) - Given annually to aid in the completion of a significant work of nonfiction on an American topic of political or social concern
Winner: Jonathan M. Katz
The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster
Finalist: Susan Southard
Nagasaki
Judges for the J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award were Shaye Areheart, Dorothy Brown, Susan McHenry and Mirta Ojito.