The winner of the 2025 Cundill History Prize will be selected from the shortlist and announced on October 30th, receiving US$10,000. (Cundill History Prize)
The Cundill History Prize is administered by McGill University in Montreal and is open to books about any historical period or subject, by authors of all nationalities from across the world. Â
The $75,000 US ($101,119 Cdn) prize is one of the largest annual book prizes given out anywhere in the world. It recognizes the best historical nonfiction of the year, which exhibits literary excellence and broad appeal.Â
The 2025 finalists are:Â
The First and Last King of Haiti by Marlene L. Daut Summer of Fire and Blood by Lyndal Roper The Age of Choice by Sophia Rosenfeld
“All three books combine remarkable creativity, rigorous research, and engaging prose. These are wonderful books that deserve our attention and that will, I think, stand the test of time,” said jury chair Ada Ferrer.
These three works were selected from a shortlist of eight titles, selected from over 400 submissions by a panel of world-class historians from universities such as John Hopkins, Princeton, and Yale.Â
The winner will be revealed on Thursday, October 30 as part of the Cundill History Prize Festival in Montreal.
Three finalists will be named on Oct. 3. The two runners-up will each receive $10,000 US ($13,476 Cdn).The winner will be announced on Oct. 30.Â
Last year’s winner was Kathleen DuVal for her book Native Nations.Â
Other previous winners also include Marjoleine Kars, Camilla Townsend, Julia Lovell and Maya Jasanoff.Â