It has been presented annually in Ottawa at the Writers’ Trust Politics and the Pen gala since 2000,[1] superseding the organization's defunct Gordon Montador Award.
The prize was established in honour of Shaughnessy Cohen (February 11, 1948 - December 9, 1998), an outspoken and popular Liberal Member of Parliament from Windsor, Ontario who died after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage in the House of Commons of Canada just seconds after standing to address her peers.
[2] A three-person jury selects the winner and finalists of the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing.
Such titles are on equal footing with all other submissions, provided that their publishers agree to abide by the conditions laid out in this document.
The judgment of the jury in selecting the winners, determining eligibility, and interpreting these rules is final.