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NEW YORK – This year’s finalists for the prestigious J. Anthony Lukas Prizes have been announced, showcasing an impressive range of topics from a detailed biography of James Baldwin to an insightful exploration of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and a compelling history of the American West inspired by a 19th-century photograph.
The announcement was made by the Columbia Journalism School and the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, which jointly manage the Lukas Prize Project. The awards honor the legacy of the late investigative journalist J. Anthony Lukas.
Among the contenders for the $10,000 Lukas Book Prize is Danielle Leavitt’s “By the Second Spring: Seven Lives and One Year of the War in Ukraine,” recognized for its blend of literary elegance, rigorous research, and originality in reporting. Other notable nominees include Bench Ansfield’s “Born in Flames: The Business of Arson and the Remaking of the American City,” Rich Benjamin’s “Talk to Me: Lessons from a Family Forged by History,” Mariah Blake’s “They Poisoned the World: Life and Death in the Age of Forever Chemicals,” and Jeff Hobbs’ “Seeking Shelter: A Working Mother, Her Children, and a Story of Homelessness in America.”
Nicholas Boggs’ “Baldwin: A Love Story,” which garnered significant acclaim last year, is vying for the $10,000 Mark Lynton History Prize. Competing alongside Boggs are Martha A. Sandweiss with “The Girl in the Middle,” inspired by a photograph from 1868 depicting a Native girl; Sven Beckert’s “Capitalism: A Global History,” William Dalrymple’s “The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World,” and Siddharth Kara’s “The Zorg: A Tale of Greed and Murder That Inspired the Abolition of Slavery.”
In addition to these categories, the Lukas project also revealed finalists for the Work-in-Progress Prizes, which will award $25,000 each to two winners.
The nominees are Bryce Andrews’ “Seaworthy,” danah boyd’s “Data Are Made, Not Found,” Esmé E. Deprez’s “Inviting Death In,” Sarah Esther Maslin’s “Nothing Stays Buried” and Karim Zidan’s “In the Shadow of the Cage.”
Previous winners of the Lukas prizes, founded in 1998, include Robert Caro, Jill Lepore and Samantha Power.
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