News Releases
Authors Jacquie McNish and Sinclair Stewart are the winners of this year’s National Business Book Award for their book Wrong Way: The Fall of Conrad Black, published by Penguin Group (Canada). The announcement was made this afternoon at an award luncheon in Toronto.
In their book, McNish and Stewart chronicle the unravelling of Conrad Black, providing an inside glimpse as to how the seemingly invincible tycoon was brought down by his own shareholders and ousted as the head of his company, Hollinger International Inc.
Celebrating its twentieth anniversary, the National Business Book Award is considered one of Canada’s most prestigious and respected literary awards. Co-sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and BMO Financial Group, the National Business Book Award raised its annual prize to $20,000 this year to recognize 20 years of outstanding business books published in Canada.
Speaking on behalf of the five-member jury that selected this year’s winner,The Honourable William G. Davis, former Ontario premier and jury chair, congratulated McNish and Stewart and their publisher, Penguin Group (Canada), on the insightful examination of Conrad Black’s fall from power. He also praised McNish and Stewart on the exceptional amount of research and investigation that went into writing it.
“For the twentieth anniversary of the award, it is important to celebrate the dedication, hard work and integrity of Canada’s business writers and publishing community,” said Chris Clark, National Managing Partner and CEO-elect, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. “Hundreds of business-related books have been nominated for this award during the past two decades. All of these books should be commended for promoting excellence in business writing in this country.”
“Business books - and the authors who write them - deserve special recognition for their contribution to Canadian culture and the business world,” said Rose Patten, Senior Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Strategic Management, BMO Financial Group. “Their contributions inspire us to think about business issues from many different perspectives. We are pleased to have the chance to recognize these talented individuals.”
In addition to The Honourable William G. Davis, this year’s jury included: Jane Cooney, President, Books for Business; William Dimma, Chairman, Home Capital Group Inc.; Anne Kingston, Columnist, National Post and winner of the 1994 National Business Book Award; and Peter Mansbridge, Chief Correspondent, CBC Television Network.
About Jacquie McNish
Jacquie McNish has been a business journalist in Canada and the United States for twenty-four years. She was a financial reporter for The Wall Street Journal and is currently a senior writer for The Globe and Mail in Toronto, ON. She has won numerous journalism awards including a National Newspaper Award in 1993 and 2003.
About Sinclair Stewart
Sinclair Stewart is a Globe and Mail business reporter, where he covers financial services. He was formerly a financial reporter with the National Post.
The finalists for the 2004 National Business Book Award were:
- Joel Bakan (Vancouver) for The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power, published by Penguin Group (Canada).
- Peter Hadekel (Montreal) for Silent Partners: Taxpayers and the Bankrolling of Bombardier, published by Key Porter Books.
- Keith McArthur (Toronto) for Air Monopoly: How Robert Milton’s Air Canada Won – and Lost – Control of Canada’s Skies, published by McClelland & Stewart Ltd.
- Linda McQuaig (Toronto) for It’s the Crude, Dude: War, Big Oil, and the Fight for the Planet, published by Doubleday Books of Random House of Canada.
- Rod McQueen (Toronto) for The Icarus Factor: The Rise and Fall of Edgar Bronfman Jr., published by Doubleday Books of Random House of Canada.
The National Business Book Award winner for 2003 was Kim Vicente for The Human Factor: Revolutionizing the Way People Live with Technology, published by Knopf Canada.
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From left to right: Chris Clark, National Managing Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, winners Sinclair Stewart, Jacqui McNish, and Rose Patten, Senior Executive Vice-President, Human Resources and Head, Office of Strategic Management, BMO Financial Group at the National Business Book Award presentation.