Dayton Literary Peace Prize

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About the Awards

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize, inaugurated in 2006, is the first and only annual U.S. literary award recognizing the power of the written word to promote peace. The Dayton Literary Peace Prize invites nominations in adult fiction and nonfiction books published within the past year that have led readers to a better understanding of other cultures, peoples, religions, and political points of view. Both awards carry a $10,000 cash prize.

The Mission of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize mission is To advance peace through literature.

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize goal is to Support those who write, publish, read, and share literature that advances peace.

  • By recognizing books that promote peace through the DLPP prizes.
  • By encouraging the reading of winning books through programming and education outreach at all levels to enlighten readers about people and issues that concern peace.
  • By creating programming that fosters the empathy that is the result of enlightenment through reading.
  • By encouraging the movement toward justice that stems from empathy through programming and education that define justice.
  • By creating awareness that the steps to peace are enlightenment, empathy, and justice, and that reading books that promote peace are an impetus for the evolution in thought.

Award criteria:

  • Nominated works should focus on peace: increasing understanding between and among people as individuals or within and between families, communities, nations, ethnic groups, cultures and religions. Works should have enduring literary value and should appeal to a variety of audiences.
  • Nominated works should characterize peace as:
    • ending or seeking to end conflict—personal, national or international,
    • establishing concord between and among people, or
    • showing consequences of persons, nations or institutions recklessly disrupting personal harmony or universal accord.

History of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize

In 1995 Dayton was chosen as the site of what came to be known as the Dayton Peace Accords. The accords were a last-ditch effort to stop the ethnic cleansing that had claimed more than 300,000 lives and displaced 1 million people. It was “the worst killing ground in Europe since World War II,” wrote Mr. Richard Holbrooke in his 1998 book, To End a War.

Ambassador Holbrooke chose Dayton as the summit site, an unimpressive alternative to opulent settings in Geneva, Paris, or Washington. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the largest in the country, provided stark accommodations for the nine participating delegations, sealed off the press, and displayed America’s air power. This environment augmented Holbrook’s use of the “Big Bang” strategy—now known in diplomacy circles as a “Dayton”—where negotiators are locked in a room until they reach an agreement.

Daytonians welcomed the negotiators and then formed human peace chains around the base, holding candlelight vigils throughout the 21 days of talks. Dayton City Commissioner Matt Joseph described Dayton’s response, “People reacted. There was a fire in Bosnia and it was brought to our neighborhood. We took our garden hoses and tried to put it out. We just acted like neighbors. That’s what we do in Dayton. If they’re in trouble, we’re in trouble.”

(For a greater understanding of the Dayton peace process, please watch the video below and read these two articles by Kati Marton, Holbrooke’s wife, published in the New York Times on April 18 & 19, 2011: “Waging Peace With Justice“ and “The Weapons of Diplomacy, and the Human Factor“.)

What happened between Dayton and Bosnia after the accords were reached is especially noteworthy. In looking for ways to keep the “spirit of Dayton” alive, community members established citizen-to-citizen relationships with Bosnians through cultural and educational exchanges, trade missions, and international conferences between policymakers and government officials. Dayton also arranged a sister-city agreement with Sarajevo and hosted a “Concert for Peace” with the Sarajevo and Dayton Philharmonic Orchestras.

“We are 5,000 miles away and made a difference for people no one every heard of, and in a place almost no one knew was there,” says Commissioner Joseph. “We were chosen, and we took up the cause.” Community leaders created the Dayton Peace Prize in 1999 to recognize individuals who contributed to the peaceful reconstruction of a society torn apart by war. Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1999), William Jefferson Clinton (2000), George Soros (2002) and Richard Holbrooke (2005) were recipients.

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation is the successor to the Dayton Peace Prize. The DLPP is dedicated to celebrating the power of the written word to forge peace. Daytonians witnessed that words not guns stopped a war. An all-volunteer committee researched the award, discovering that only two other peace prizes existed in the world and no literary peace prize existed in the U.S. DLPP established the only international literary peace prize in the country. The DLPP annually presents awards in Distinguished Achievement, Fiction and Nonfiction, each winner receiving a $10,000 honorarium and the runners-up in Fiction and Nonfiction receiving $5,000.

Publishers and writers immediately responded to the call for nominations. DLPP established a cadre of first readers and final judges, brought together universities in support of the awards, appealed to corporations, businesses, local government and individuals in the Dayton area to launch the first award ceremony. The DLPP board asked award-winning local sculptor Michael Bashaw to create an award. Bashaw created a brass sculpture that evokes paper and quill and is inscribed with the author’s name and book title and the word “peace” in over 200 languages.

The announcement of the first prize was picked up by 244 newspapers throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Australia. The DLPP has continued to enjoy media attention during its fourteen-year history. Some of the coverage is available on the website www.daytonliterarypeaceprize.org under Press Room.

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize has built an international reputation—already standing among prestigious literary awards. The Lifetime Achievement (renamed in 2011 for Richard C. Holbrooke — the Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Award for Distinguished Achievement) winners have included Studs Terkel (who gave his last public speech at the 2006 event), Elie Wiesel, Taylor Branch, Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, Geraldine Brooks, Barbara Kingsolver, Tim O’Brien, Wendall Berry, Louise Erdrich, Gloria Steinem, Marilynne Robinson, Colm Tóibín, John Irving, N. Scott Momaday, Margaret Atwood, Wil Haygood, and Sandra Cisneros.

Fiction and Nonfiction winners include both established and emerging writers: Francine Prose, Stephen Walker, Brad Kessler, Mark Kurlansky,  Junot Diaz, Edwidge Danticat, Richard Bausch, Benjamin Skinner, Marlon James, Dave Eggers, Emir Suljagic, Chang-rae Lee, Wilbert Rideau, Nigel Young, Andrew Krivak, Adam Hochschild, Adam Johnson, Andrew Solomon, Bob Shacochis, Karima Bennoune, Josh Weil, Bryan Steveson, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Susan Southard, Patricia Engel, David Wood, Hala Alyan, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Golnaz Hashemzadeh Bonde, Eli Saslow, Alice Hoffman, Chanel Miller, Alexander Starritt, Ariana Neumann, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, Clint Smith, Geraldine Brooks, and Robert Samuels & Toluse Olorunnipa.

Over the last sixteen years, DLPP has recognized writers born in and writing from the perspective of Algeria, Australia, Bosnia, Canada, China, the Dominican Republic, England (6), Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Iran, the Republic of Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Nigeria (2), North Vietnam, Peru, Romania, Scotland, South Africa, South Korea (2), South Vietnam, the United States (44), and Venezuela. We have received nominations from 230 publishing houses, both large and small, including houses in Australia, Cambodia, Canada, England, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, Qatar, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, and Sri Lanka.

The DLPP University Consortium and Library Consortium have significant outreach programs. Each year, the University Consortium, made up of colleges and universities in Ohio and beyond (we have university connections in Michigan, Virginia, New York, Utah, Pennsylvania, California and the U.K. and are working to extend the university connections through universities with peace institutes throughout the U.S. and beyond) presents DLPP programming for their students and the public.

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation remains primarily a volunteer organization, is non-profit and depends upon donations from individuals, corporations, universities, local government and grants to sustain its efforts.

The History of the Holbrooke Award

The Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award was formerly the Lifetime Achievement Award. Upon the untimely and tragic death of Richard Holbrooke, the board of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize (DLPP) Foundation determined that renaming the DLPP Lifetime Award for Ambassador Holbrooke was a fitting tribute to the man who made Dayton synonymous with peace around the globe (see “History of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize“).

When Ambassador Holbrooke received the Dayton Peace Prize, the forerunner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, he advised us to pay annual tribute to the peace process and not let the world forget that peace can be forged with words. The award has been renamed the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award and will adhere to the same criteria as the DLPP Lifetime Award. The award has previously honored Studs Terkel (2006), Elie Wiesel (2007), Taylor Branch (2008), Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDun (2009), and Geraldine Brooks (2010). After Ambassador Holbrooke’s death, Barbara Kingsolver became the first winner of the Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award in 2011, followed by Tim O’Brien(2012), Wendell Berry (2013), Louise Erdrich (2014, Gloria Steinem (2015), Marilynne Robinson (2016), Colm Tóibín (2017), John Irving (2018), and N. Scott Momaday (2019).

The prize includes a Michael Bashaw sculpture and the monetary award of $10,000.

We invite you to follow these links to learn more about Richard Holbrooke. Holbrooke’s wife, Kati Marton, wrote two articles for the New York Times in a series called “Remembering Richard Holbrooke, Parts 1 and 2.”

  1. Waging Peace with Justice (April 18, 2011)
  2. The Weapons of Diplomacy, and the Human Factor (April 20, 2011)

Here is a review of The Unquiet American: Richard Holbrooke in the World by Derek Chollet & Samantha Power. The review was written by Michael Getler for the Washington Post and published on November 11, 2011.

Video Discussions

  1. On Tuesday, January 3, 2012, Charlie Rose moderated a panel discussion about Richard Holbrooke with George Packer, Gordon Goldstein, David Rohde and Holbrooke’s widow Kati Marton. Click on this link to see a video of that discussion.
  2. On Sunday, February 5, 2012, CSPAN-2 broadcast a program in which Kati Marton and Strobe Talbott talked about the life and career of Richard Holbrooke. Strobe Talbott is a former reporter and editor for Time magazine, served as Deputy Secretary of State during the Clinton administration. At the time of this program he was president of the Brookings Institution. Mr. Talbott’s books include The Great Experiment, Engaging India, and The Russia Hand. The program was hosted by Politics and Prose Bookstore in Washington, DC.

2019 Governor's Awards

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation was honored that in 20019 The Dayton Literary Peace Prize was the recipient of the  prestigious Irma Lazarus Award, considered to be the highest of the Ohio Governor’s Awards for the Arts. The Irma Lazarus Award goes to “individuals or organizations who have helped shape public support for the arts through their work as advocates and have brought national and international recognition to Ohio through sustained dedication to artistic excellence.

Winner List

Lifetime Achievement Award & The Ambassador
Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award

2023 Sandra Cisneros
2022 Wil Haygood
2020-2021 Margaret Atwood
2019 N. Scott Momaday
2018 John Irving
2017 Colm Tóibín

2016 Marilynne Robinson
2015 Gloria Steinem
2014 Louise Erdrich
2013 Wendell Berry
2012 Tim O’Brien
2011 Barbara Kingsolver

2010 Geraldine Brooks
2009 Nicholas Kristof,
Sheryl WuDunn
2008 Taylor Branch
2007 Elie Wiesel
2006 Studs Terkel

2023 Sandra Cisneros
2022 Wil Haygood
2020-2021 Margaret Atwood
2019 N. Scott Momaday
2018 John Irving
2017 Colm Tóibín
2016 Marilynne Robinson
2015 Gloria Steinem
2014 Louise Erdrich
2013 Wendell Berry
2012 Tim O’Brien
2011 Barbara Kingsolver
2010 Geraldine Brooks
2009 Nicholas Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn
2008 Taylor Branch
2007 Elie Wiesel

2006 Studs Terkel

Fiction Award

2023 Geraldine Brooks, Horse
2022 Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois
2021 Alexander Starritt, We Germans
2020 Alice Hoffman, The World That We Knew
2019 Golnaz Hashemzadeh Bonde, What We Owe
2018 Hala Alyan, Salt Houses
2017 Patricia Engel, The Veins of the Ocean
2016 Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer
2015 Josh Weil, The Great Glass Sea
2014 Bob Shacochis, The Woman Who Lost Her Soul
2013 Adam Johnson, The Orphan Master’s Son
2012 Andrew Krivák, The Sojourn
2011 Chang-Rae Lee, The Surrendered
2010 Marlon James, The Book of Night Women
2009 Richard Bausch, Peace
2008 Junot Díaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
2007 Brad Kessler, Birds in Fall
2006 Francine Prose, A Changed Man

Nonfiction Award

2023 Robert Samuels & Toluse Olorunnipa, His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice
2022 Clint Smith, How The Word Is Passed
2021 Ariana Neumann, When Time Stopped
2020 Chanel Miller, Know My Name
2019 Eli Saslow, Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist
2018 Ta-Nehisi Coates, We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy
2017 David Wood, What Have We Done: The Moral Injury of Our Longest Wars
2016 Susan Southard, Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War
2015 Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
2014 Karima Bennoune, Your Fatwah Does Not Apply Here: Untold Stories from the Fight Against Muslim Fundamentalism
2013 Andrew Solomon, Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity
2012 Adam Hochschild, To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918
2011 Wilbert Rideau, In the Place of Justice: A Story of Punishment and Deliverance
2010 Dave Eggers, Zeitoun
2009 E. Benjamin Skinner, A Crime So Monstrous: Face-to-Face with Modern-Day Slavery
2008 Edwidge Danticat, Brother, I’m Dying
2007 Mark Kurlansky, Nonviolence: Twenty-five Lessons from the History of a Dangerous Idea
2006 Stephen Walker, Shockwave: Countdown to Hiroshima

Fiction Runner-up

2023 Lily Brooks-Dalton, The Light Pirate
2022 JoAnne Tompkins, What Comes After
2021 Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, The Mountains Sing
2020 Christy Lefteri, The Beekeeper of Aleppo
2019 Richard Powers, The Overstory
2018 Min Jin Lee, Pachinko
2017 Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing
2016 James Hannaham, Delicious Foods
2015 Anthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See
2014 Margaret Wrinkle, Wash
2013 Ben Fountain, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk
2012 Ha Jin, Nanjing Requiem
2011 Maaza Mengiste, Beneath the Lion’s Gaze
2010 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Thing Around Your Neck
2009 Uwem Akpan, Say You’re One of Them
2008 Daniel Alarcón, Lost City Radio
2007 Lisa Fugard, Skinner’s Drift
2006 Kevin Haworth, The Discontinuity of Small Things

Nonfiction Runner-up

2023 Adam Hochschild, American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis
2022 Andrea Elliott, Invisible Child
2021 Jordan Ritter Conn, The Road From Raqqa
2020 Jennifer Eberhardt, Biased
2019 Wil Haygood, Tigerland: 1968-1969: A City Divided, a Nation Torn Apart, and a Magical Season of Healing
2018 Michelle Kuo, Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship
2017 Ben Rawlence, City of Thorns, Nine Lives in the World’s Largest Refugee Camp
2016 Jessica Posner and Kennedy Odede, Find Me Unafraid: Love, Loss and Hope in an African Slum
2015 Jeff Hobbs, The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace:  A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League
2014 Jo Roberts, Contested Land, Contested Memory: Israel’s Jews and Arabs and the Ghosts of Catastrophe
2013 Gilbert King, Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America
2012 Annia Ciezadlo, Day of Honey: A Memoir of Food, Love, and War
2011 Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration
2010 Justine Hardy, In the Valley of Mist: One Family in a Changing World
2009 Thomas Friedman, Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution—And How It Can Renew America
2008 Cullen Murphy, Are We Rome? The Fall of an Empire and the Fate of America
2007 David Relin and Greg Mortenson, Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace … One School at a Time
2006 Adam Hochschild, Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire’s Slaves

Special Awards

2011 Scholarship Award: Nigel Young, Ed.,
The Oxford International Encyclopedia of Peace
2010 The Ambassador Robert Frowick Award: Emir Suljagi,
Postcards from the Grave

Maps: Author Origins Books Settings

Authors' Countries of Origin

DLPP award-winning authors represent 24 countries, including Algeria, Australia, Bosnia, Canada, China, the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Iran, Republic of Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Peru, Romania, Scotland, South Africa, Venezuela, North Vietnam and South Vietnam with one winner each; Nigeria and South Korea with two; England with six; and the United States with 44.

Settings for Our Award-winning Books

DLPP award-winning books have been set in modern and historical times, in 62 different countries past and present, including Afghanistan, Algeria, Australia, Belgian Congo, Bosnia, Cambodia, Canada, Chechnya, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, the Republic of Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, England, Ethiopia, Fiji, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Haiti, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq, Republic of Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kashmir, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mali, Mexico, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Palestine, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, the Republic of Sudan, Sweden, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, the United States, Venezuela, North Vietnam and South Vietnam.

States of Origin of Authors 2006-2023: 26 States and the District of Columbia

Alabama: Margaret Wrinkle, California: Chanel Miller, Jordan Ritter Conn, Colorado: Jessica Possner, Connecticut: Mark Kurlansky, Delaware: Bryan Stevenson, Florida: Tulose Olorunnipa, Georgia: Taylor Branch, Richard Bausch, Idaho: Marilynne Robinson, Illinois: Studs Terkel, Nick Kristof, Hala Alyan, Richard Powers, Annia Ciezdalo, Sandra Cisneros, Indiana: Honorée Fanonne Jeffers; Kentucky: Wendell Berry, Louisiana: Wilbert Rideau, Clint Smith, Maryland: Barbara Kingsolver, Ta Nehisi Coates, Massachusetts: Dave Eggers, Michigan: Michele Kuo, Minnesota: Louise Erdrich, Tom Obrien, Tom Friedman, Greg Mortenson, New Hampshire: John Irving, New Jersey: Patricia Engel, New York: Sheryl WuDunn, Alice Hoffman, Brad Kessler, Andrew Solomon, Francine Prose, Adam Hochschild (3), James Hannaham, Kevin Haworth, Gilbert King, Cullen Murphy, David Relin, Robert Samuels, North Carolina: Ben Fountain, Oklahoma: N. Scott Momaday, Ohio: Gloria Steinem, Anthony Doerr, Jennifer Eberhardt, Wil Haygood, Pennsylvania: Bob Shacochis, Andrew Krivak, Jeff Hobbs, South Dakota: Adam Johnson, Vermont: Lily Brooks-Dalton, Virginia: Josh Weil, Wisconsin: Ben Skinner, Washington DC: Isabelle Wilkerson, Andrea Elliot

Social Media Followers Around the World

As of November 23, 2021, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize has tracked thousands of social media followers around the world, in 45 different countries.

United States of America: 1,092, Pakistan: 29, India: 15, United Kingdom: 14, Canada: 11, Nigeria: 9, France: 7, Italy: 6, Egypt: 5, Taiwan: 4, Portugal: 4, Bangladesh: 3, Ireland: 3, South Africa: 3, Iran: 3, Mexico: 3, Australia: 3, Vietnam: 3, Serbia: 2, Hong Kong: 2, Japan: 2, Brazil: 2, Sweden: 2, Ghana: 2, Israel: 2, Uzbekistan: 2, Cameroon: 2, Greece: 2, Colombia: 2, Philippines: 2, Bosnia & Herzegovina: 2, Benin: 1, New Zealand: 1, Libya: 1, Qatar: 1, Kosovo: 1, Russia: 1, Cambodia: 1, Caymen Islands: 1, Tunisia: 1, Netherlands: 1, Norway: 1, Denmark: 1, Morocco: 1, Sri Lanka: 1

Sponsor Recognition

Please Join us in Thanking Our Sponsors in Peace

Bodhi Foundation
Rhonda Chambal and
Irongate Realtors, Inc.
*Stephen and Molly Cobb
*Linda W. Lombard and
Paul W. Marshall Charitable Trust
Marine Meredith Collier and
David Bentley

*Paul and Ruth Rabb
*Sharon Rabb
Sinclair Community College,
Steven Johnson, President
*Sherry Tschudin
University of Dayton,
Eric Spina, President

Barbara Cleary
*Susan DeLuca
*Michael and Holly DiFlora
Mark Harman
Wil Haygood
*Steven and Priya Jain
Larry and Marilyn Klaben,
Morris Home Furnishings
*Robert Kohut and
Michelle Bryant
*Bryan and 
Deborah LiBrandi

*Ann McDonough and
Todd Hackett
*William and
Helen Prichard
*Nick and Bekah Raines
*Tracy and Kevin Riley
*Michael and
Susan Riordan
Gayle Rominger and
Tom Henighan
*Urmee Siraj
David Snapp and
Carol Regan
*Eric and Karen Spina

*Susan Strong and
Bob Pohl
*Jerry Sutton and
Sandra McHugh
*Barry Taylor
Thompson Hine LLP
*Pamela and
Malte von Matthiesson
Thomas Wilson
Wright State University,
Susan Edward, Presiden

*denotes Holbrooke Society Membership

Coolidge Wall
Vernon Fernandes
Thomas Lasley
Anne and
Larry Lawhorne

Todd and
Gabriele Leventhal
Montgomery County,
Commissioners Lieberman,
Dodge, and Rice

John Spaccarelli
Merle Wilberding
Linda Woods
Kristy Zechiel and
Tim Peters

Sean and Leslie Creighton
Patrick and Suzanne Crippen
Dayton Metro Library, Jeffery Trzeciak
Pam and David Denka
John Duby and Sara Guerro Duby
David and Marsha Flannery
Sharon and Gary Gottschlich
Lisa Hanauer and Sue Spiegel
Linda Harrison
Stanley and Ann Herr
Steven and Jean Ireland
Jane Katsuyama
John and Nanci Koepke

David and Laurie Leach
Dennis and Carol Loranger
John Lyman
Darren McGarvey and Darrell Bickley
Frances Repperger and Michael Sterzer
Roger and Macy Reynolds
Bob Shacochis
Cheryl Vargas
Serena Waalther and Larry Forman
Robert and Ann Weisgarber
Frank Williams
Steven Zabarnick and Kathleen Webb

In-Kind Donations

Dayton Metro Library
Digital Stationary International, LLC, Verne Morland
Heidelberg Distributing Co.
Kettering Fairmont High School
Tom Lasley
Ann McDonough
Marriot at the University of Dayton
Ron and Julie Maynard
The Miami Valley School
Monell Communications, Ray Monell

Morning Sun Florist, Darla Hiser
Morris Home Furnishings, Larry and Marilyn Klaben
Bill and Helen Prichard
Progressive Printers Inc.
Sharon Rab
Nick and Bekah Raines
Katie Reynolds
John Rion
Stacey Rion
Fran Robinson
Sinclair Community College
Spark Space Creative, Errin Siske

Eric and Karne Spina
Bryan Stewart
Susan Strong and Bob Pohl
Thompson Hine, LLP
Tipp City Public Library
Tippecanoe High School
Sherry Tschudin
Dorothy and Fred Tuzzi
University of Dayton
Melanie Wagner
Merle Wilberding
Wright State University
WYSO

Publishers

Publishing Houses That Have Nominated Books
for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize

  • Abrams Books
  • Academic Studies Press
  • Akashic Books
  • Alfred A. Knopf
  • Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
  • Amazon
  • Amy Einhorn Books
  • Anchor
  • Apprentice House Books, Loyola University
  • Arlington Avenue Books
  • Armida Publications, Cyprus
  • Arsenal Pulp Press
  • Ashland Creek Press
  • Ashoka Books
  • Astra Books*
  • Atlantic Monthly Press
  • Atria Books
  • Atwood Publishing
  • Autumn House Press
  • Avery
  • Avid Reader Press
  • Ayebia Clarke Publishing, UK
  • Australian Catholic University
  • Balue Fox Publishing
  • Baylor University Press
  • Basic/Nation Books
  • Beacon Press
  • Bedazzled Ink Publishing Co.
  • Bellevue Literary Press
  • Benu Press
  • Berkeley Books*
  • Berrett-Koehler Publishers
  • Biblioasis, Windsor Ont.
  • Bilingual Review Press
  • Black Balloon Publishing
  • Black Cat
  • Black Lawrence Press
  • Black Rose Writing
  • Blackstone Publishing
  • Blackwell Publishing, Inc.
  • Blank Slate Press
  • Bloomsbury Press
  • Blue Rider Press
  • Bold Type Books*
  • Boreal Books
  • Cambridge University Press, England
  • Candid Creation Publishing, Singapore
  • Catapult Press
  • Celadon Press
  • Central European University Press, Hungary
  • Chelsea Station Editions
  • Chicago Review Press
  • Church Publishing
  • Cincinnati Book Publishing
  • Cissus World Press
  • City Lights Publishers
  • Coffee House Press
  • Colorado State University
  • Columbia University Press
  • Continuum International Publishing
  • Counterpoint Press
  • Crown Publishing
  • Curbside Splendor Publishing
  • Dalkey Archive Press
  • Dey Street Books
  • Doubleday
  • Dr. Cicero Books
  • Dundurn Press, Toronto
  • Dutton
  • Dzanc Books, Inc
  • Easton Studio Press
  • Ecco Press
  • ECW Press, Toronto
  • Edinburgh University Press, Scotland
  • William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
  • Elixir Press
  • Engine Books
  • Ensign Publishing House
  • Erewhon Books
  • Farrar, Straus and Giroux
  • Fig Tree Books
  • Fordham University Press
  • Forest Avenue Press
  • Foxhead Books
  • Free Press
  • G.P. Putnam’s Sons
  • Gaon Books
  • General Store Publishing House, Canada
  • Global Visions Press
  • Goose Lane Editions, New Brunswick, Canada
  • Gotham Books
  • Grand Central Publishing
  • Granta Publications, London*
  • Graywolf Press
  • Greenleaf Books
  • Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
  • Guernica Editions
  • Hamid Bin Khalifa University Press, Qatar
  • Hamish Hamilton, London
  • Hand to Hand Publishing
  • Hanover Square Press*
  • Harcourt
  • Hardie Grant Books, Victoria, Australia
  • Harlequin Trade Publishing*
  • HarperCollins Publishers
  • HarperOne
  • Harvard Square Editions
  • Harvard University Press
  • Haymarket Books
  • HB Publishing
  • Henry Holt and Company
  • Herald Press
  • Hill and Wang
  • Hogarth Press
  • Houghton Mifflin
  • Hub City Press
  • Hyperion
  • Ig Publishing
  • Ignatius Press
  • In the Garden Publishing
  • Inspivia, Inc.
  • Interlink Publishing Group
  • International Asia PtE LTD, Singapore
  • Jacana Media, Johannesburg, South Africa
  • John Hunt Publishing, Ltd, UK
  • Jonathan Cape, London*
  • Kaplan Publishing
  • Karakoram Press
  • Kerber Verlag, Berlin
  • Kind Citizen LLC, Afghanistan*
  • Knopf Canada
  • Knut House Press
  • KOA Books
  • Koehler Books
  • LTS Press
  • Lake Union Publishing
  • LandMarc Company
  • Langham Creative Projects, U.K.
  • Leaf-Land Press
  • Libros Libertad, Canada
  • Little, Brown and Company
  • Little a Publishing, Amazon
  • Liveright Publishing Corporation
  • Margaret Ferguson Books
  • Mariner Books
  • Marshall Cavendish
  • Maverick House, Dublin
  • McFarland Publishing
  • McPherson and Company
  • McSweeney’s
  • Medallion Press
  • Melville House Publishing
  • Metropolitan Books
  • Miami University Press
  • Michigan State University Press
  • Milkweed Editions, Inc.
  • Miramax Books
  • Mirare Press
  • Morgan James Publishing
  • NBM Graphic Novels
  • Nation Books
  • Nellie Bly Books
  • New Degree Press
  • New Directions Publishing
  • New Issues Poetry and Prose, Western Michigan University
  • New Society Publishers
  • New Village Press
  • New York Review of Books*
  • Newmarket Press
  • Northern Arizona University
  • Northwestern University Press
  • One Signal Publishers*
  • Oneworld Publications, London
  • Open Books, Corfu, Greece
  • Oregon State University Press
  • Other Press
  • Owl Canyon Press
  • Oxford University Press
  • Palgrave Macmillan
  • Pantheon & Schocken
  • Parallax Press
  • Pearson
  • Penguin Books, India
  • Penguin Canada
  • Penguin Group (USA)
  • Penguin Press
  • Penguin/Random House, New Zealand
  • Penguin/Random House, South Africa
  • Perseus Books
  • Philomel
  • Phoenix Rising Press of Santa Rosa
  • Picador
  • Plain View Press
  • PM Press
  • Polity Press
  • Portobello Books, London
  • Princeton University Press
  • Profile Books, London
  • Prometheus Books
  • PublicAffairs
  • Putnam
  • Princeton University Press
  • Quality Books in Print
  • Quercus Publishing, London
  • Random House, Inc.
  • Rare Bird Books
  • Ravaya Publications, Sri Lanka
  • Reagan Arthur Books
  • Red Hen Press
  • Restless Books
  • Riverhead Books, Routledge, Abington, England
  • St. Martin’s Press
  • Sarabande Press
  • Sarah Crichton Books
  • Savant Books and Publications*
  • Schaffner Press, Inc.
  • Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University
  • Scribner
  • Shanti Arts Publishing
  • She Writes Press
  • Simon & Schuster
  • Skyhorse Publishing
  • Soft Skull Press
  • Soho Press
  • Solstice Publishing
  • Sourcebooks
  • South End Press
  • Spark Press
  • Spiegel and Grau
  • Stephen F. Austin State University Press*
  • Stormbird Press, Australia
  • Sunbury Press
  • Syracuse University Press
  • Jeremy P. Tarcher
  • Texas Christian University
  • The Dial Press
  • The Facing Project Press
  • The Feminist Press
  • The Johns Hopkins University Press
  • The New Press
  • The New York Review of Books
  • The Overlook Press
  • The Permanent Press
  • The Perseus Books Group
  • ThingsAsian Press
  • Think Piece Publishing
  • Thomas Dunne Books
  • Times Books
  • Tin House Books
  • Tor/Forge Books
  • Transit Books
  • Trinity University Press
  • Two Dollar Radio
  • Tyndale House Publishing*
  • Tyrant Books
  • Tyrus Books
  • Unbridled Books
  • Union Square*
  • Unity Press
  • University of Alabama Press
  • University of Alaska Press
  • University of Alberta Press
  • University of Arizona Press
  • University of California Press*
  • University of California Medical Humanities Press
  • University of Chicago Press
  • University of Georgia Press
  • University of Guam Press
  • University of Iowa Press*
  • University of Kansas Press
  • University of Michigan Press
  • University of Nebraska Press
  • University of Nevada Press
  • University of South Carolina Press
  • University of Tennessee Press
  • University of Wisconsin*
  • University Press of Kentucky
  • Vanderbilt University Press
  • Verso Books
  • The Viking Press
  • Vintage Books
  • Virginia Avenue Press/The Nevada Review
  • W. W. Norton & Company
  • Waterside Publishing
  • Wildflower Press Inc.
  • Wiley
  • William Morrow
  • Wolsak and Wynn, Canada
  • Zibby Books*
  • Zondervan Books
  • Abrams Books
  • Academic Studies Press
  • Akashic Books
  • Alfred A. Knopf
  • Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
  • Amazon
  • Amy Einhorn Books
  • Anchor
  • Apprentice House Books, Loyola University
  • Arlington Avenue Books
  • Armida Publications, Cyprus
  • Arsenal Pulp Press
  • Ashland Creek Press
  • Ashoka Books
  • Astra Books*
  • Atlantic Monthly Press
  • Atria Books
  • Atwood Publishing
  • Autumn House Press
  • Avery
  • Avid Reader Press
  • Ayebia Clarke Publishing, UK
  • Australian Catholic University
  • Balue Fox Publishing
  • Baylor University Press
  • Basic/Nation Books
  • Beacon Press
  • Bedazzled Ink Publishing Co.
  • Bellevue Literary Press
  • Benu Press
  • Berkeley Books*
  • Berrett-Koehler Publishers
  • Biblioasis, Windsor Ont.
  • Bilingual Review Press
  • Black Balloon Publishing
  • Black Cat
  • Black Lawrence Press
  • Black Rose Writing
  • Blackstone Publishing
  • Blackwell Publishing, Inc.
  • Blank Slate Press
  • Bloomsbury Press
  • Blue Rider Press
  • Bold Type Books*
  • Boreal Books
  • Cambridge University Press, England
  • Candid Creation Publishing, Singapore
  • Catapult Press
  • Celadon Press
  • Central European University Press, Hungary
  • Chelsea Station Editions
  • Chicago Review Press
  • Church Publishing
  • Cincinnati Book Publishing
  • Cissus World Press
  • City Lights Publishers
  • Coffee House Press
  • Colorado State University
  • Columbia University Press
  • Continuum International Publishing
  • Counterpoint Press
  • Crown Publishing
  • Curbside Splendor Publishing
  • Dalkey Archive Press
  • Dey Street Books
  • Doubleday
  • Dr. Cicero Books
  • Dundurn Press, Toronto
  • Dutton
  • Dzanc Books, Inc
  • Easton Studio Press
  • Ecco Press
  • ECW Press, Toronto
  • Edinburgh University Press, Scotland
  • William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
  • Elixir Press
  • Engine Books
  • Ensign Publishing House
  • Erewhon Books
  • Farrar, Straus and Giroux
  • Fig Tree Books
  • Fordham University Press
  • Forest Avenue Press
  • Foxhead Books
  • Free Press
  • G.P. Putnam’s Sons
  • Gaon Books
  • General Store Publishing House, Canada
  • Global Visions Press
  • Goose Lane Editions, New Brunswick, Canada
  • Gotham Books
  • Grand Central Publishing
  • Granta Publications, London*
  • Graywolf Press
  • Greenleaf Books
  • Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
  • Guernica Editions
  • Hamid Bin Khalifa University Press, Qatar
  • Hamish Hamilton, London
  • Hand to Hand Publishing
  • Hanover Square Press*
  • Harcourt
  • Hardie Grant Books, Victoria, Australia
  • Harlequin Trade Publishing*
  • HarperCollins Publishers
  • HarperOne
  • Harvard Square Editions
  • Harvard University Press
  • Haymarket Books
  • HB Publishing
  • Henry Holt and Company
  • Herald Press
  • Hill and Wang
  • Hogarth Press
  • Houghton Mifflin
  • Hub City Press
  • Hyperion
  • Ig Publishing
  • Ignatius Press
  • In the Garden Publishing
  • Inspivia, Inc.
  • Interlink Publishing Group
  • International Asia PtE LTD, Singapore
  • Jacana Media, Johannesburg, South Africa
  • John Hunt Publishing, Ltd, UK
  • Jonathan Cape, London*
  • Kaplan Publishing
  • Karakoram Press
  • Kerber Verlag, Berlin
  • Kind Citizen LLC, Afghanistan*
  • Knopf Canada
  • Knut House Press
  • KOA Books
  • Koehler Books
  • LTS Press
  • Lake Union Publishing
  • LandMarc Company
  • Langham Creative Projects, U.K.
  • Leaf-Land Press
  • Libros Libertad, Canada
  • Little, Brown and Company
  • Little a Publishing, Amazon
  • Liveright Publishing Corporation
  • Margaret Ferguson Books
  • Mariner Books
  • Marshall Cavendish
  • Maverick House, Dublin
  • McFarland Publishing
  • McPherson and Company
  • McSweeney’s
  • Medallion Press
  • Melville House Publishing
  • Metropolitan Books
  • Miami University Press
  • Michigan State University Press
  • Milkweed Editions, Inc.
  • Miramax Books
  • Mirare Press
  • Morgan James Publishing
  • NBM Graphic Novels
  • Nation Books
  • Nellie Bly Books
  • New Degree Press
  • New Directions Publishing
  • New Issues Poetry and Prose, Western Michigan University
  • New Society Publishers
  • New Village Press
  • New York Review of Books*
  • Newmarket Press
  • Northern Arizona University
  • Northwestern University Press
  • One Signal Publishers*
  • Oneworld Publications, London
  • Open Books, Corfu, Greece
  • Oregon State University Press
  • Other Press
  • Owl Canyon Press
  • Oxford University Press
  • Palgrave Macmillan
  • Pantheon & Schocken
  • Parallax Press
  • Pearson
  • Penguin Books, India
  • Penguin Canada
  • Penguin Group (USA)
  • Penguin Press
  • Penguin/Random House, New Zealand
  • Penguin/Random House, South Africa
  • Perseus Books
  • Philomel
  • Phoenix Rising Press of Santa Rosa
  • Picador
  • Plain View Press
  • PM Press
  • Polity Press
  • Portobello Books, London
  • Princeton University Press
  • Profile Books, London
  • Prometheus Books
  • PublicAffairs
  • Putnam
  • Princeton University Press
  • Quality Books in Print
  • Quercus Publishing, London
  • Random House, Inc.
  • Rare Bird Books
  • Ravaya Publications, Sri Lanka
  • Reagan Arthur Books
  • Red Hen Press
  • Restless Books
  • Riverhead Books, Routledge, Abington, England
  • St. Martin’s Press
  • Sarabande Press
  • Sarah Crichton Books
  • Savant Books and Publications*
  • Schaffner Press, Inc.
  • Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University
  • Scribner
  • Shanti Arts Publishing
  • She Writes Press
  • Simon & Schuster
  • Skyhorse Publishing
  • Soft Skull Press
  • Soho Press
  • Solstice Publishing
  • Sourcebooks
  • South End Press
  • Spark Press
  • Spiegel and Grau
  • Stephen F. Austin State University Press*
  • Stormbird Press, Australia
  • Sunbury Press
  • Syracuse University Press
  • Jeremy P. Tarcher
  • Texas Christian University
  • The Dial Press
  • The Facing Project Press
  • The Feminist Press
  • The Johns Hopkins University Press
  • The New Press
  • The New York Review of Books
  • The Overlook Press
  • The Permanent Press
  • The Perseus Books Group
  • ThingsAsian Press
  • Think Piece Publishing
  • Thomas Dunne Books
  • Times Books
  • Tin House Books
  • Tor/Forge Books
  • Transit Books
  • Trinity University Press
  • Two Dollar Radio
  • Tyndale House Publishing*
  • Tyrant Books
  • Tyrus Books
  • Unbridled Books
  • Union Square*
  • Unity Press
  • University of Alabama Press
  • University of Alaska Press
  • University of Alberta Press
  • University of Arizona Press
  • University of California Press*
  • University of California Medical Humanities Press
  • University of Chicago Press
  • University of Georgia Press
  • University of Guam Press
  • University of Iowa Press*
  • University of Kansas Press
  • University of Michigan Press
  • University of Nebraska Press
  • University of Nevada Press
  • University of South Carolina Press
  • University of Tennessee Press
  • University of Wisconsin*
  • University Press of Kentucky
  • Vanderbilt University Press
  • Verso Books
  • The Viking Press
  • Vintage Books
  • Virginia Avenue Press/The Nevada Review
  • W. W. Norton & Company
  • Waterside Publishing
  • Wildflower Press Inc.
  • Wiley
  • William Morrow
  • Wolsak and Wynn, Canada
  • Zibby Books*
  • Zondervan Books

* Publishing Houses submitting entries for the first time in 2023.

International Publishing Houses Nominated as of 2022

Each country listed includes the number of publishing houses in parenthesis, i.e. Australia (4). If no number is written, that country has (1) publishing house. The map below denotes each country and its corresponding number of publishing houses.

Australia (4): Australian Catholic University, Global Vision Press, Tasmania, Hardie Grant Books, Stormbird Press; Cambodia: Redcoates Studios; Canada (13): Arsenal Pulp Press, Vancouver, Biblioasis, Windsor Ontario, Dundurn Press, Toronto, ECW Press, Toronto, General Store Publishing House, Goose Lane Editions, New Brunswick, Guernica Editions, Ontario, Knopf Canada, Libros Libertad, Surrey, British Columbia, New Society Publishers, British Columbia, Penguin Canada, University of Alberta Press, Wolsak and Wynn, Hamilton, Ontario; Cypress: Armida Publications; England (16): Ayebia Clarke Publishing, Banbury, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Continuum International Press, London, Granta Publications, London, Hamish Hamilton, London, John Hunt Publishing, Ltd, Jonathan Cape Publishing, London, Langham Creative Projects, Oneworld Publications, London, Oxford University Press, Oxford, Palgrave Macmillan, London, Pearson, London, Portobello Books, London, Profile Books, London, Quercus Publishing, London, Routledge Publishing, Abington; Germany: Kerber Verlag, Berlin; Greece: Open Books, Kontokali, Corfu; Guam: University of Guam Press; Hungary: Central European University  Press; India: Penguin India; Ireland: Maverick House, Dublin; Malaysia: International Islamic University, Kuala Lumpur; New Zealand: Penguin New Zealand; Pakistan: Karakoram Press, Rawalpindi; Qatar: Hamid Bin Khalifa University Press, Qatar; Scotland: Edinburgh University Press; Singapore (2): Candid Creation Publishing, Marshall Cavendish International Asia; South Africa (2): Jacana Media, Johannesburg, Penguin/Random House, South Africa; Sri Lanka: Ravaya Publications, Sri Lanka

Team Members

Board of Trustees

J. Wray Blattner, Attorney, Thompson Hine LLC, Retired
Molly Cobb, Community volunteer, Former educator
Sean Creighton, President, The New American Colleges and Universities;
Michael DiMaggio, Vice President of Strategic Partners and
Development, KnowledgeWorks
Madeline Iseli, Senior Vice President for Advancement and Regional Strategy, Sinclair Community College
Tom Lasley, MCESC, The Dayton Foundation
Ann McDonough, Director of Marketing, Coolidge Wall Co., LPA

Felice Nudelman, Associate Vice President, Academic Innovation and
Transformation with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, Retired
Sharon Rab, Founder
Kevin Riley, Editor-at-Large, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fran Robinson, Special Projects,
Media Relations CareSource Management Group
Karen Spina, Community Volunteer; University of Dayton Ambassador; Former Computer Scientist and Educator
Merle Wilberding, Attorney, Coolidge Wall Co., LPA

Nicholas Raines, Executive Director

Emily Kretzer, Program Manager

J. Wray Blattner, Attorney, Thompson Hine LLC, Retired
Molly Cobb, Community volunteer, Former educator
Sean Creighton, President, The New American Colleges and Universities;
Michael DiMaggio, Vice President of Strategic Partners and
Development, KnowledgeWorks
Madeline Iseli, Senior Vice President for Advancement and Regional Strategy, Sinclair Community College
Tom Lasley, MCESC, The Dayton Foundation
Ann McDonough, Director of Marketing, Coolidge Wall Co., LPA
Felice Nudelman, Associate Vice President, Academic Innovation and
Transformation with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, Retired
Sharon Rab, Founder
Kevin Riley, Editor-at-Large, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fran Robinson, Special Projects,
Media Relations CareSource Management Group
Karen Spina, Community Volunteer; University of Dayton Ambassador; Former Computer Scientist and Educator
Merle Wilberding, Attorney, Coolidge Wall Co., LPA

Nicholas Raines, Executive Director

Emily Kretzer, Program Manager

Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Award Chairs

Kati Marton, Honorary Chair

Robert Taft, Former Governor of Ohio, Chair

Kati Marton, Honorary Chair

Robert Taft, Former Governor of Ohio, Chair

Honorary Advisory Board

Christopher Cerf, Author; Musician; Dayton Literary
Peace Prize Finalist Judge 2012, 2013
Wil Haygood, Author; 2022 Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award Recipient; 2019 Dayton Literary Peace Prize Nonfiction Runner-up; 2016 Dayton Literary Peace Prize Nonfiction Finalist
Gilbert King, Author; 2013 Dayton Literary
Peace Prize Nonfiction Runner-up

Kati Marton, Honorary Chair, Richard C. Holbrooke Award for
Distinguished Achievement Committee
Tim O’Brien, Author; 2012 Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award Recipient
Bob Shacochis, Author; 2014 Dayton Literary Peace Prize Fiction Winner

Christopher Cerf, Author; Musician; Dayton Literary Peace Prize Finalist Judge 2012, 2013
Wil Haygood, Author; 2022 Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award Recipient; 2019 Dayton Literary Peace Prize Nonfiction Runner-up; 2016 Dayton Literary Peace Prize Nonfiction Finalist
Gilbert King, Author; 2013 Dayton Literary Peace Prize Nonfiction Runner-up
Kati Marton, Honorary Chair, Richard C. Holbrooke Award for Distinguished Achievement Committee
Tim O’Brien, Author; 2012 Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award Recipient
Bob Shacochis, Author; 2014 Dayton Literary Peace Prize Fiction Winner

Advisory Council

Darrell Bickley, Divisional Vice President of Great American Insurance, Co., Retired.
Susan DeLuca, Educator, Vice President of New York Times, Retired
Mark Harman, Community Volunteer; DLPP Transportation Chair
Linda Harrison, Librarian and Spanish Teacher, Retired; DLPP Archivist
Matt Joseph, Dayton City Commissioner
Joan Knoll, Community Volunteer
Carol Loranger, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, Wright State University; DLPP Education Outreach Chair
Vick Mickunas, Book Reviewer, Dayton Daily News and WYSO

Blair Munhofen, Director of Upper School, Miami Valley School
Debra Oswald, Library Director, Sinclair College; University Consortium Chair
Helen Prichard, Librarian, Retired; DLPP Library Consortium Chair
Stacey Rion, Community Volunteer, DLPP Author Series Chair
Sharon Kelly Roth, Liaison to books&co; Conversation with the Authors Book Sale Coordinator
Ron Rollins, Editor of Ideas & Voices, Dayton Daily News, Retired; DLPP Virtual Book Club Host & Moderator
Dr. Urmee Siraj, Gastroenterologist, Dayton Digestive Specialists

Bryan Stewart, Workforce Director at the Montgomery County Educational Service Center; DLPP Marketing Committee
Susan Strong, Writer; Arts and Education Advocate; DLPP Holbrooke Society Committee
Melanie Wagner, Content Strategist, CareSource
Winona Winkler Wendth, Writer and Editor; Adjunct Professor of the Humanities, Quinsigamond Community College;
Founding Member, Seven Bridge Writers’ Collaborative
Drew Wichterman, Director at Pickaway County Library System; DLPP Curriculum Committee