Pankaj Mishra will receive the Weston International Award 2024 for his non-fiction writing

Pankaj Mishra has been named the recipient of the 2024 Weston International Award, which recognizes the professional achievements of an international author in the nonfiction genre. Known for his insightful writings on the Global South, Western imperialism in Asia, and contemporary spirituality, Mishra will receive a cash prize of $75,000. This award complements the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction, which is awarded annually to a Canadian author for a single work of nonfiction.

To qualify for the award, authors must have published at least three non-fiction books of outstanding literary merit, written in English or widely available in translation. Mishra has had a successful career, having written eight non-fiction books, including Age of Anger, From the Ruins of Empire and Butter Chicken in Ludhiana, and two novels, The Romantics and Run and Hide. The jury praised his work, saying, “With a compelling and foundational work that blends memoir, philosophy, history, sociology and criticism, Mishra proves himself a master at dissecting and addressing magmatic arguments and pressing questions about identity, nationalism and belonging.”

Mishra was selected by an international advisory panel and a Canadian jury. The advisory panel included UK-based broadcaster Mariella Frostrup, writer Pico Iyer, and historian, biographer and journalist Sam Tanenhaus. The Canadian jury included author and naturalist Trevor Herriot, author Helen Humphreys, author and environmental historian Jessica J Lee, writer Kyo Maclear, and author, journalist and editor Harley Rustad.

On September 16, Mishra will speak at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, where he will talk about his career and work.