2019 Wilson Prize Winners!

Maxime Dagenais

As a result of the pandemic, we will not be able to officially reveal the Wilson Book Prize and the Viv Nelles Essay Prize winners at a local watering hole during the CHA in London, Ontario. Nevertheless, the show, as they say, must go on and it is our pleasure today to reveal the winners of our 2019 Wilson Book Prize and Viv Nelles Essay Prize. Thank you to all the publishers, authors, and graduate students for sending in your wonderful books, papers, articles, etc. If you want more information about our nominees, please refer to the blog post we published a few months ago.

The winner of the $1,000 2019 Viv Nelles Essay Prize is John Bird, a PhD Candidate in History at the University of Saskatchewan, for a paper titled, “Settler Salvation and Indigenous Survival: George Copway’s Reconciliatory Vision.” Focusing on Mississauga writer Kahgegagahbowh, aka George Copway, John Bird analyses Copway’s vision to safeguard Indigenous peoples in the United States, which includes the creation of an Indigenous territory known as Kahgega. John will receive a $1,000 cheque and a plaque commemorating his achievement will be displayed (when we reopen!) at the Wilson Institute. Well done John and our other two nominees – Kassandra Luciuk and Kenny Reilly – best of luck with your studies!

And now … the Wilson Book Prize. Last year’s winner was Allan Greer’s Property and Dispossession: Natives, Empires, and Land in Early Modern North America, published by Cambridge University Press. And like last year, we asked our Wilson associates to vote on this difficult decision. This year’s competition was extremely tight, with all three books finishing very close in the final tally. This year’s winner is: M. Max Hamon, The Audacity of His Enterprise: Louis Riel and the Métis Nation That Canada Never Was, 1840–1875, published by McGill-Queen’s University Press. This year, we have decided to change things up and will reward both the publisher and the author. As a result, both MQUP and M. Max Hamon will walk away with $5,000 each.

Once again, a massive thank you to all the nominees. Sheldon Krasowski, No Surrender: The Land Remains Indigenous, published by University of Regina Press and Bronwen McShea, Apostles of Empire: The Jesuits and New France, published by University of Nebraska Press: you have produced some incredible, ground-breaking work, forcing us all to rethink Canadian and transnational history. Each book received very positive feedback from our associates, and we look forward to your next publications. We do not doubt that we’ll see your names on our shortlist once again!

Looking forward to next year:

Graduate Students: if you want your paper to be nominated for the $1,000 Viv Nelles Essay Prize contact Maxime Dagenais at wilsonch@mcmaster.ca

Publishers and Authors: if you want your book(s) to be nominated for the $10,000 Wilson Book Prize, send them to:

Dr. Maxime Dagenais
L.R. Wilson Hall Room 2006
McMaster University
1280 Main Street West
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4L9

À la prochaine!