Five finalists for the Charles Taylor Prize were announced this morning, the shortlist emerging from a total of 115 books read by the jury. They are Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest by Wade Davis, Eating Dirt: Deep Forests, Big Timber, and Life with the Tree-Planting Tribe by Charlotte Gill, The Measure of a Man: The Story of a Father, a Son, and a Suit by J. J. Lee, Afflictions and Departures: Essays by Madeline Sonik and The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary: A Canadian Story of Resilience and Recovery by Andrew Westoll.

Prize finalists will speak at Ben McNally’s Authors’ Brunch on Sunday, March 4, and the prize winner will be announced Monday, March 5 at a gala luncheon and awards ceremony.