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Dayton, OH (February 2, 2009) – Giving authors an opportunity to join the ranks of luminaries like Studs Terkel and Elie Wiesel and acclaimed new talents like Edwidge Danticat and Brad Kessler, The Dayton Literary Peace Prize today launched its call for submissions for 2008’s best fiction and nonfiction works that promote peace and non-violent conflict resolution.

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize is the only international literary peace prize awarded in the United States. It was founded in 2006 as an outgrowth of the Dayton Peace Prize, which commemorates the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords ending the war in Bosnia.

Winners receive a $10,000 honorarium and will be honored at a gala ceremony in Dayton on Sunday, November 8th, 2009. To submit a book for consideration, visit www.daytonliterarypeaceprize.org.

As part of the kick-off for this year’s call for submissions, organizers also announced the launch of a Nominating Academy to ensure that the widest possible cross-section of books is considered for this year’s prize. Members of the Nominating Academy include a diverse mix of leaders from the literary, publishing, and progressive worlds including: authors Alan Cheuse (NPR’s “Voice of Books”), Amy Hempel, Brad Kessler (2007 fiction winner for Birds in Fall), and Mark Kurlansky (2007 nonfiction winner for Nonviolence: Twenty-Five Lessons from the History of a Dangerous Idea); Lea Thau, executive director of The Moth; Matthew Rothschild, editor of The Progressive; WETA’s books blogger Bethanne Patrick, and Susannah Lupert, executive director of New York City’s Housing Works Bookstore Café. The list of books nominated by the academy will presented to publishers in late February so that titles can be officially submitted for consideration

In addition, organizers announced the addition of new judges, including legendary writer and editor Gordon Lish and Cullen Murphy, the former editor of The Atlantic and a runner-up for the 2008 Dayton Literary Peace Prize for his book, Are We Rome?. They will join current judges, authors Katherine Vaz and Gerald Early

"As we enter a new era in the United States filled with both opportunities and challenges, we believe it is more important than ever to honor and support literature that prompts a larger discussion about how conflicts should best be resolved," said Sharon Rab, chair of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. "We look forward to celebrating the authors who have used their talents to inspire, challenge, and provoke readers to believe in and work for a better, more peaceful world.”

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz and Brother, I’m Dying by Edwidge Danticat received the 2008 Dayton Literary Peace Prize for fiction and nonfiction, respectively, while Murphy and Daniel Alarcon (Lost City Radio) were named runners-up. Civil right movement historian Taylor Branch (America in the King Years) was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Past Lifetime Achievement honorees include Wiesel (2007) and Terkel (2006).

“Those of us who have lived without peace know of its elemental importance and yet how few cultures and institutions and organizations honor or recognize or promote this essential and elusive human practice,” said Diaz. “On many levels this award honors what is best in us as a people and is a testament to the forward-looking humanity of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize."

Publishers may submit English-language books first published in 2008 for consideration for the 2009 Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Submissions may address the theme of peace on a variety of levels, such as between individuals, among families and communities, or among nations, religions, or ethnic groups. The submission deadline is March 31, 2009.

Submissions may be sent to Sharon Rab at sharonrab@woh.rr.com or by mail at P.O. Box 461, Wright Brothers Branch, Dayton, OH 45409-0461. Please see www.daytonliterarypeaceprize.org for more information about the nomination process.

About the Dayton Literary Peace Prize

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize honors writers whose work uses the power of literature to foster peace, social justice, and global understanding. Launched in 2006, it has already established itself as one of the world’s most prestigious literary honors, and is the only literary peace prize awarded in the United States. As an offshoot of the Dayton Peace Prize, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize awards a $10,000 cash prize each year to one fiction and one nonfiction author whose work addresses themes of peace as a solution to conflict, and leads readers to a better understanding of other cultures, peoples, religions, and political points of view. An annual lifetime achievement award is also bestowed upon a writer whose body of work reflects the Prize's mission; previous honorees included Taylor Branch, Studs Terkel and Elie Wiesel.

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