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Read the complete 2009 Book Prize award announcement.

The Book Prize, established to highlight new nonfiction books on the Middle East, is among the world's most lucrative literary awards. Winners were announced before an audience of more than 300 journalists, diplomats, scholars, and members of the Institute's Board of Trustees at the organization's annual Weinberg Founders Conference in Leesburg, Virginia.

The Institute also awarded the 2009 Silver Prize ($15,000) to Ali A. Allawi, a former defense and finance minister in postwar Iraq, for his The Crisis of Islamic Civilization, a compelling insider's plea for the resurgence of Islam as a civilizing force that can meet the challenges of modernity and globalization. The Bronze Prize ($5,000) recipient is Amb. Martin Indyk for Innocent Abroad: An Intimate Account of American Peace Diplomacy in the Middle East, an honest and personal account of Middle East statecraft during the Clinton administration.

"This year's award winners exemplify the very best principles of our prize," said Institute executive director Dr. Robert Satloff. "We have in these three books an outstanding collection of compelling scholarship, provocative argument, and powerful narrative."

Winners were chosen by a three-person jury that included Eliot Cohen, former State Department official and professor of strategic studies at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS); Kenneth Stein, director of Emory University's Institute for the Study of Modern Israel; and Lally Weymouth, senior editor of Newsweek magazine.

About the Prize

The future of America's role in the world will be determined, in large measure, by the depth of its citizens' knowledge and understanding of the Middle East. Books are the preferred form of expression for some of the most learned and informed scholars and observers of the region. In recent years, some influential works have profoundly shaped American ideas about the Middle East, affecting both policymakers in Washington, D.C., and interested observers throughout the country.

The Washington Institute Book Prize is awarded annually to three outstanding new books that have illuminated the Middle East for American readers. With this prize, The Washington Institute seeks to acknowledge the very best new works on the region and encourage authors and publishers to produce books of unique quality and insight.

The Washington Institute awards three prizes annually: a Gold Prize of $30,000, a Silver Prize of $15,000, and a Bronze Prize of $5,000. The selection of the winners is made by a distinguished jury, comprised of accomplished authors who are expert on the Middle East. Publishers may submit nonfiction books on any subject that bears on the modern Middle East or America's role in the region. The nearest deadline for submissions is May 1, 2010, for awards made the following autumn.

Past Prize Winers

The 2009 Washington Institute Book Prize recipients were A Safe Haven: Harry S. Truman and the Founding of Israel by Allis and Ronald Radosh (Gold Medal), The Crisis of Islamic Civilization byAli A. Allawi (Silver Medal), and Innocent Abroad: An Intimate Account of American Peace Diplomacy in the Middle East by Martin Indyk (Bronze Medal). To learn more about the 2009 recipients of the Washington Institute Book Prize, read the award announcement.

The 2008 Washington Institute Book Prize recipients were The Siege of Mecca by Yaroslav Trofimov (Gold Medal), Foxbats over Dimona by Isabella Ginor and Gideon Remez (Silver Medal), and Worlds at War by Anthony Pagden (Bronze Medal). To learn more about the 2008 recipients of the Washington Institute Book Prize, read the award announcement.

Rules & Elegibility

New books published in the United States for the first time in English between May 1, 2009, and May 1, 2010, are eligible for the prize.

For more details, read the complete prize rules.

How to Enter

Publishers should complete an entry form (PDF) and mail or fax it with the appropriate entry fee. Entry forms must be postmarked no later than May 1, 2010.

Download an entry form in PDF format.

Deadline

May 1, 2010: Official entry forms, entry fee, and six (6) copies of each book or bound galley entered must be postmarked by this date.

Contact Information

Publishers wishing clarification with regard to any of the rules should contact the prize administrator at the following address:

The Washington Institute Book Prize
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
1828 L Street, NW, Suite 1050
Washington, DC 20036

Telephone: 202-452-0650
Fax: 202-223-5364

Send an email

 Book Prize - Rules

 Book Prize - Entry Form

 Book Prize - Past Winners