The Lionel Gelber Prize
The Lionel Gelber Prize, a literary award for the world's best non-fiction book on international affairs published in English, was founded in 1989 by Canadian diplomat Lionel Gelber. A cash prize of $50,000 CAD is awarded to the winner. The award is presented annually by University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy.
2026 Lionel Gelber Prize Winner
The winner of the 2026 Lionel Gelber Prize is Thinking Historically: A Guide to Statecraft and Strategy by Francis Gavin published by Yale University Press.
“Thinking Historically is a book for our times. In the midst of escalating, interconnected crises that are challenging deeply embedded assumptions and creating new levels of uncertainty, Gavin shows how thinking historically helps us see some of what we otherwise would miss,” said Janice Gross Stein, the Chair of the Gelber Jury.
Chosen by a jury of international journalists, practitioners and scholars, the Lionel Gelber Prize is awarded annually to the best book on international affairs published in English. The Prize is presented by the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. The winner will receive $50,000 on Wednesday, April 15 at 12:00pm ET during the Prize Ceremony and Lecture.
2026 Lionel Gelber Prize Shortlist
An international panel of practitioners, journalists and scholars has announced the shortlist for the 2026 Lionel Gelber Prize. The Prize honours the world’s best book on international affairs published in English and will be chosen from the following five titles:
- King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion, and Catastrophic Miscalculation by Scott Anderson (Signal/McClelland & Stewart)
- Capitalism: A Global History by Sven Beckert (Penguin Press)
- House of Huawei: The Secret History of China's Most Powerful Company by Eva Dou (Portfolio)
- How Progress Ends: Technology, Innovation and the Fate of Nations by Carl Benedikt Frey (Princeton University Press)
- Thinking Historically: A Guide to Statecraft and Strategy by Francis J. Gavin (Yale University Press)
"The jury’s selections explore the wide range of forces that influence human progress,” said Judith Gelber, Chair of the Lionel Gelber Prize Board. “These books show the importance of examining the past to inform possibilities for the future.”
This year's shortlist was selected by the 2026 Lionel Gelber Prize Jury: Prof. Janice Gross Stein (Jury Chair), Prof. John Bew (London), Prof. Sergey Radchenko (Cardiff), James Steinberg (Washington) and Prof. Nina Srinivasan Rathbun (Toronto).
