Matti Friedman, Marc Raboy, Diane Schoemperlen, Max Eisen and Ross King are the five short-listed authors for the literary non-fiction honour
On March 6, the winner of this year's RBC Taylor Prize will be announced, hopefully without any Academy Award-level confusion. One day before, the five short-listed authors for the literary non-fiction honour will gather for a special edition of the Ben McNally/Globe and Mail Books and Brunch in the ballroom of Toronto's King Edward Hotel. There, talk will be on the contending books: Pumpkinflowers: A Soldier's Story of a Forgotten War by Matti Friedman; Marconi: The Man Who Networked the World by Marc Raboy; This Is Not My Life: A Memoir of Love, Prison and Other Complications by Diane Schoemperlen; By Chance Alone: A Remarkable True Story of Courage and Survival at Auschwitz by Max Eisen; and Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies by Ross King. At the brunch, bread will be broken, mimosas will be sipped and tips will be left, with one of the authors soon to be in a much better position for giving gratuities. The prize is worth $25,000 – a lot of bread to the winner, and toast and $2,000 for the rest.
Books and Brunch, March 5, 10 a.m., $55 (seating is limited). King Edward Hotel, 37 King St. E., 416-361-0032.
Brad Wheeler