The Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize was created in 1977, in memory of

Christopher Ewart-Biggs Christopher Thomas Ewart Ewart-Biggs, (5 August 1921 – 21 July 1976) was the British Ambassador to Ireland, an author and senior Foreign Office liaison officer with MI6. He was killed in 1976 by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) i ...

, British Ambassador to Ireland, who was assassinated by the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reu ...

in 1976. Founded by his Widow Jane Ewart-Biggs (following her death, the literary prize is currently administered jointly by their 3 children) following the death of her husband, its stated goal is to promote peace and reconciliation in Ireland, a greater understanding between the peoples of the United Kingdom and Ireland, or closer co-operation between partners of the

European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lis ...

now known as the EU. It is awarded to a book, a play or a piece of journalism that best fulfills this aim, published during a two-year period up to December 31 of the year preceding the year in which the prize is awarded. The value of the biennially awarded literary prize is currently set at £7500, an increase on the original £5000 award of 1977.

Past winners

The years of publication/broadcast for which the prize was awarded is given. In earlier years the Prize was identified by the year of award, but the official website now gives year of publication/broadcast. * 1978:

A. T. Q. Stewart Anthony Terence Quincey Stewart (8 July 192916 December 2010), known professionally as A. T. Q. Stewart or Tony Stewart, was a Northern Irish historian, teacher and academic, and a best-selling author on the subject of the politics of Ulster and N ...

, ''The Narrow Ground: Aspects of Ulster 1609-1969'' * 1978: Mícheál Mac Gréil, ''Prejudice and Tolerance in Ireland'' * 1979:

Stewart Parker James Stewart Parker (20 October 1941 – 2 November 1988) was a Northern Irish poet and playwright. Biography He was born in Sydenham, Belfast, of a Protestant working-class family. His birthplace is marked by an Ulster History Circle blue ...

, ''I'm A Dreamer, Montreal'' * 1979:

Dervla Murphy Dervla Murphy (28 November 1931 – 22 May 2022) was an Irish touring cyclist and author of adventure travel books, writing for more than 50 years. Murphy is best known for her 1965 book '' Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle'', about a ...

, '' A Place Apart'' * 1980: Robert Kee, ''Ireland: A Television History'' * 1981: F. S. L. Lyons, ''Culture and Anarchy in Ireland, 1890-1939'' * 1982: ''

Fortnight A fortnight is a unit of time equal to 14 days (two weeks). The word derives from the Old English term , meaning "" (or "fourteen days," since the Anglo-Saxons counted by nights). Astronomy and tides In astronomy, a ''lunar fortnight'' is ha ...

'' magazine * 1983: John Bowman, ''De Valera and the Ulster Question, 1917-1973'' * 1984:

Oliver MacDonagh Oliver Ormond Gerard Michael MacDonagh (1924–2002), was a professor of Irish history who made a particular study of the historic relationship between Ireland and the United Kingdom. MacDonagh spent most of his academic career at universities ...

, ''States of Mind: A Study of Anglo-Irish Conflict, 1780-1980'' * 1984: Padraig O'Malley, ''The Uncivil Wars: Ireland Today'' * 1985:

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription requ ...

, ''

Translations Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...

'' * 1986: Frank McGuinness, ''

Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme ''Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme'' is a 1985 play by Frank McGuinness. Plot synopsis The play centres on the experiences of eight unionist Ulstermen who volunteer to serve in the 36th (Ulster) Division at the beginning of ...

'' ** 1986 Special Award:

Hubert Butler Hubert Marshal Butler (23 October 1900 – 5 January 1991) was an Irish essayist who wrote on a wide range of topics, from local history and archaeology to the political and religious affairs of eastern Europe before and during World War II. ...

* 1987–88:

David McKittrick David McKittrick (born 1949) is a Belfast-born journalist who has reported on Northern Ireland since 1971. Professional career McKittrick began his career as a reporter for the ''East Antrim Times''. He joined the ''Irish Times'' in 1973 as a r ...

and Mary Holland, newspaper columns * 1989–90: John H. Whyte, ''Interpreting Northern Ireland'' ** 1989–90 special citation:

Blackstaff Press The Blackstaff Press is a publishing company in Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland. Founded in 1971, it publishes printed books on a range of subjects (mainly, but not exclusively, of Irish interest) and, since 2011, has also published e- ...

* 1991–92: Brian Keenan, ''An Evil Cradling'' * 1993–94: Fionnuala O'Connor, ''In Search of a State: Catholics in Northern Ireland'' * 1995–96:

Norman Porter Norman Porter was a loyalist politician in Northern Ireland. A lay preacher, an Orangeman, an Apprentice Boy and a member of the Royal Black Institution,Paul Bew,Good Friday man?, ''Times Online'' Porter became the leader of the National Unio ...

, ''Rethinking Unionism: An Alternative Vision for Northern Ireland'' * 1995–96:

Sebastian Barry Sebastian Barry (born 5 July 1955) is an Irish novelist, playwright and poet. He was named Laureate for Irish Fiction, 2019–2021. He is noted for his lyrical literary writing style and is considered one of Ireland's finest writers. Barry's l ...

, ''The Steward of Christendom'' * 1997–98: Peter Hart, ''The IRA and its Enemies; Violence and Community in Cork, 1916-1923'' * 1999–2000:

, Seamus Kelters, Brian Feeney and Chris Thornton, ''Lost Lives: The Stories of the Men, Women and Children who Died as a Result of the Northern Ireland Troubles'' * 2001–02:

Linen Hall Library The Linen Hall Library is located at 17 Donegall Square North, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the oldest library in Belfast and the last subscribing library in Northern Ireland. The Library is physically in the centre of Belfast, and more ...

, ''Troubled Images Project'' * 2003–04:

Tom Dunne Thomas Dunne is an Irish radio broadcaster with Newstalk, and a singer/songwriter with the band Something Happens. Prior to joining Newstalk, Dunne worked on Today FM, presenting his very successful and hugely popular radio program, "Pet So ...

, ''Rebellions: Memoir, Memory and 1798'' ** 2003–04 Special Award:

Garret FitzGerald Garret Desmond FitzGerald (9 February 192619 May 2011) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, economist and barrister who served twice as Taoiseach, serving from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987. He served as Leader of Fine Gael from 1977 to 1987, and ...

* 2005–06: Richard English, ''Irish Freedom: The History of Nationalism in Ireland'' ** 2005–06 Special Award:

Michael Longley Michael Longley, (born 27 July 1939, Belfast, Northern Ireland), is an Anglo-Irish poet. Life and career One of twin boys, Michael Longley was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to English parents, Longley was educated at the Royal Belfast A ...

* 2007–08: David Park, ''The Truth Commissioner'' ** 2007–08 Special Award: Fergus D'Arcy, ''Remembering the War Dead'' * 2009–10: Timothy Knatchbull, ''From a Clear Blue Sky: Surviving the Mountbatten Bomb'' * 2009–10:

Guy Hibbert Guy Hibbert is a British screenwriter and playwright. He has won four BAFTA TV awards, including Best Writer for the 2009 film ''Five Minutes of Heaven''. This film was premiered at the 25th Sundance Film Festival, where Hibbert won the World C ...

and

Oliver Hirschbiegel Oliver Hirschbiegel (born 29 December 1957) is a German film director. His works include ''Das Experiment'' and the Oscar-nominated '' Downfall''. Life and career Hirschbiegel was born in Hamburg, Germany. A Waldorf graduate, Hirschbiegel stu ...

, ''

Five Minutes of Heaven ''Five Minutes of Heaven'' is a 2009 Irish film directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel from a script by Guy Hibbert. The film was premiered on 19 January 2009 at the 25th Sundance Film Festival where it won the World Cinema Dramatic Directing Award for ...

'' * 2011–12: Julieann Campbell, ''Setting the Truth Free: The Inside Story of the Bloody Sunday Justice Campaign'' * 2011–12:

Douglas Murray Douglas Murray may refer to: * Douglas Murray (author) (born 1979), British political journalist, author and commentator * Doug Murray (comics) (born 1947), American comic book writer * Douglas Murray (ice hockey) Douglas Thomas Lars Murray (bo ...

, ''Bloody Sunday: Truth, Lies and the Saville Inquiry'' ** 2011–12: Special Award:

Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to: Arts * Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction * Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing Politi ...

(for his work covering Northern Ireland over many years) * 2013–14:

Charles Townshend Charles Townshend (28 August 1725 – 4 September 1767) was a British politician who held various titles in the Parliament of Great Britain. His establishment of the controversial Townshend Acts is considered one of the key causes of the Ame ...

, ''The Republic: The Fight for Irish Independence 1918-1923'' ** 2013–14: Special Award,

Colette Bryce Colette Bryce is a poet, freelance writer, and editor. She was a Fellow in Creative Writing at the University of Dundee from 2003 to 2005, and a North East Literary Fellow at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne from 2005 to 2007. She was the ...

, ''The Whole & Rain-domed Universe'' (in memory of Seamus Heaney) * 2015–17:

Fergal Keane Fergal Patrick Keane (born 6 January 1961) is an Irish foreign correspondent with BBC News, and an author. For some time, Keane was the BBC's correspondent in South Africa. He is a nephew of the Irish playwright, novelist and essayist John B. ...

, ''Wounds: A Memoir of Love and War''The 2015 – 2017 Prize
/ref> ** 2015–17: Special Award, Marianne Elliott (for her achievement in advancing the understanding of Irish history in Britain) * 2018–19: Anna Burns, ''

Milkman Milk delivery is a delivery service dedicated to supplying milk. This service typically delivers milk in bottles or cartons directly to customers' homes. This service is performed by a milkman, milkwoman, or milk deliverer. (In contrast, a cow ...

'' ** 2018–19: Special Award,

Katy Hayward Katy Hayward is a Northern Irish academic and writer based at Queens University, Belfast. Academic career Hayward is a Reader in Sociology at Queens in Belfast, with a specialism in conflict resolution. She completed her undergraduate degree ...

, for her Twitter account * 2020-21: Gail McConnell, book of poetry, ''The Sun is Open'', published by Penned in the Margins.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
Awards established in 1977 1977 establishments in the United Kingdom British literary awards Political book awards