TORONTO— Michael McFaul, a New York Times bestselling author and former U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation, will deliver the keynote remarks at this year’s Peterson Literary Fund awards dinner on November 22, 2026. The event will welcome the five finalists for the 2026 Peterson Literary Prize for nonfiction and announce this year’s prize winner. For more information about this year’s finalists, see the earlier announcement.
Michael McFaul
McFaul served for five years in the Obama administration, first as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House (2009–2012) and then as U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation (2012–2014). Ambassador McFaul has authored ten books, including his most recent, Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder (HarperCollins).
At Stanford University, McFaul is the Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies, a Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and the Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution.
McFaul is the recipient of the Order of Merit, Third Degree from Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Order for Merits to Lithuania from President Gitanas Nausėda. McFaul earned his B.A. and M.A. at Stanford (1986) and completed his D.Phil. in International Relations at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar (1991). He appears regularly on television and is an international affairs analyst for MSNOW.
For Michael McFaul’s full biography, please see his official profile.
“We are honoured to welcome Ambassador McFaul to this year’s awards dinner. His deep understanding of authoritarian systems, democratic resilience, and the forces shaping the global information landscape speaks directly to the mission of the Peterson Literary Fund. Our work supports authors, translators, and publishers who confront disinformation and illuminate the realities of Russian aggression, and Ambassador McFaul’s insights strengthen and inspire that effort.”
Lisa Shymko, Jury Chair and Chief Administrator of the Peterson Literary Fund
TORONTO. The Peterson Literary Fund at BCU Foundation has announced the five finalists for the 2026 Peterson Literary Prize for nonfiction. The biennial international prize recognizes the best nonfiction books, written in English or Ukrainian, that promote a better understanding of Ukraine-related topics relevant to a global audience.
The Peterson Literary Prize is valued at $30,000 CAD. The winning author will receive a prize of $25,000 and an additional $5,000 will be awarded to the book’s publisher. Shortlisted finalists will each receive $5,000 CAD.
The winner will be announced at the Peterson Literary Fund’s annual awards ceremony and dinner on Sunday, November 22, 2026, in Toronto.
The awards gala guest keynote speaker will be announced on October 1, 2026.
The Five Finalists for the 2026 Peterson Literary Prize are:
Списки [Lists] by Myroslav Laiuk (Ukraїner Publishing House, Ukraine)
Живі. Зрозуміти українську літературу [The Living. Understanding Ukrainian Literature] by Oleksandr Mykhed, Pavlo Mykhed (Old Lion Publishing House, Ukraine)
David and Goliath: Commentaries on the Russo-Ukrainian War by Serhii Plokhy (Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, USA)
Russia against Ukraine: Russian Political Mythology and the War on Ukrainian Identity Edited by Anton Shekhovtsov (Ibidem Press, Germany)
Stalin’s Liquidation Game: The Unlikely Case of Oleksandr Shums’kyi, His Survival in Soviet Prison, and His Subsequent Arcane Assassination by Filip Slaveski, Yuri Shapoval (Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, USA)
According to Lisa Shymko, Jury Chair & Fund Chief Administrator, “autocrats understand that the written word is mightier than the sword. As Putin expands his brutal war aimed at erasing Ukrainian identity, the deliberate destruction of Ukraine’s cultural institutions has become a vile obsession for the Kremlin. Russian drone strikes on book depots and distribution centres across Ukraine have now destroyed more than ten million volumes. That is why the mission of the Peterson Literary Fund is especially relevant. The Free World must act decisively to protect and promote fact-based books — the vital transmitters of truth and the universal pursuit of freedom.”
Finalists were chosen by the 2026 Peterson Literary Fund Jury: Lisa Shymko (Chair), Nadia Gereliouk, John Jaworsky, Alexander Motyl, and Marko R. Stech.
About the Peterson Literary Fund:
The Peterson Literary Fund was established by Canadian philanthropist Stanley Peterson, whose generosity and far-sighted vision created a literary fund with Ukrainian roots and a global reach. The Peterson Literary Fund operates under the auspices of the Toronto-based BCU Foundation.
The fund oversees an international literary prize, several translated book awards, grants for writers, translators, and publishers, as well as several fund-initiated programs. In accordance with the wishes of the Peterson Literary Fund’s late benefactor, the fund is managed by Canadian political scientist Lisa Shymko, who also serves as Jury Chair.
Prize winners are announced at the fund’s year-end awards ceremony held annually in Toronto.
For media inquiries, contact the Peterson Literary Fund: Tel. (416) 763-7005
TORONTO, October 28, 2025 — The Peterson Literary Fund at BCU Foundation will host its annual awards gala in Toronto on November 29, 2025, to recognize this year’s esteemed honourees. The fund launched its Translated Book Awards in 2021 and, in 2023, established the Journey for Truth Project to encourage the dissemination of information about crimes committed by Russia by supporting publications, documentary films, scholarly research, and international conferences.
Howard G. Buffett, international philanthropist, investor, author, photographer, and recipient of the Peterson Literary Fund “2025 Journey for Truth Award”. Photo attribution: Press Service, President of Ukraine.
Howard G. Buffett, international investor, philanthropist, author, and photographer, will receive the Peterson Literary Fund’s 2025 Journey for Truth Award. Mr. Buffett’s book, Courage of a Nation, documents three years of war featuring remarkable photographs captured by him during his extensive travels to Ukraine (23 trips to date). As executive producer of the award-winning film, Porcelain War, Mr. Buffett has played a decisive role in raising public awareness about the brutality of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the resilience of the Ukrainian people. As Chairman and CEO of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, he has overseen the delivery of humanitarian aid to Ukraine, surpassing $1 billion. Mr. Buffett currently serves as a director of the highly successful American holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.
Timothy Snyder, Award-winning author of the book “On Freedom,” recipient of a 2025 Translated Book Award from the Peterson Literary Fund. Photo attribution: Merlin Anthwares
Historian Timothy Snyder, who holds the James Temerty Chair in European History at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy (University of Toronto), will receive a 2025 Translated Book Award for his book On Freedom, and will deliver acceptance remarks in the context of the current war in Ukraine. Snyder, the recent recipient of the Vasyl Stus Prize and Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize, is a leading scholar on Ukraine and prolific writer on Russia’s war of aggression. As author/editor of 20 books, he is an acclaimed expert on modern authoritarianism and its correlation to tyranny, freedom, and international human rights.
Journalist-author Ali Velshi, Chief Correspondent for MSNBC, Senior Economic and Business Correspondent for NBC News, and anchor of the Velshi show, who has reported extensively from Ukraine, will lead part of the evening’s conversation.
The awards dinner will likewise honour the winners of the 2025 Translated Book Awards, recognizing the best books in translation that promote a better understanding of Ukraine-related topics relevant to a global audience. The awards carry a cash prize for the winning authors and translators.
The winners of the Peterson Literary Fund 2025 Translated Book Awards are:
Failed State: A Guide to Russia’s Rupture (Jamestown Foundation) Janusz Bugajski – Author Hanna Rak, Anna Melnychenko, Oleksandr Okhrimenko, Maria Dubrova, Translators – Ukrainian edition
State of War (Meridian Czernowitz) Evgenia Lopata, Andriy Lyubka – Editors Yulia Lyubka & Kate Tsurkan, Translators – English edition
Ukrainian Sunrise. Stories of the Donetsk and Luhansk Regions from the Early 2000s (Academic Studies Press) Kateryna Zarembo – Author Tetiana Savchynska, Translator – English edition
According to Lisa Shymko, Jury Chair and Chief Administrator of the Peterson Literary Fund, “This year’s winning books play a vital role in dismantling the imperialist narratives that Russia propagates to conceal the crimes it has committed in Ukraine. Thanks to the translated editions of these exceptional books, a wider audience of readers will have access to meaningful writing driven by truth and unfiltered facts.”
In the view of Bob Leshchyshen, Chair of the Canadian-based BCU Foundation, “the gala program will represent a unique fusion of the world of philanthropy and literature.”
The winners were selected by the members of this year’s Peterson Literary Fund Jury: Lisa Shymko (Jury Chair), John (Ivan) Jaworsky, Alexander Motyl, Marko R. Stech, and Nadia Gereliouk.
About the Peterson Literary Fund:
The Peterson Literary Fund was established by Canadian philanthropist Stanley Peterson, whose generosity and far-sighted vision created a literary fund with a global reach. The Peterson Literary Fund operates under the auspices of the Toronto-based BCU Foundation.
Launched in 2021, the fund oversees an international literary prize and translated book awards. It also disburses grants for writers, translators, and publishers. In accordance with the wishes of the Peterson Literary Fund’s founding benefactor, the fund is managed by Canadian political scientist Lisa Shymko, who also serves as Jury Chair.
Editor-at-Large, National Post; Columnist, Financial Post; popular Substack Newsletter author
Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council
Bestselling author of ten books
“The Peterson Literary Fund has contributed greatly to protecting and translating Ukraine’s enormous and rich cultural contributions. This has never been more important in light of the fact that Ukrainians must once again fight for survival against Russia. The courage and commitment of the people of Ukraine, both now and in the past, must remain an inspiration to the world.”
Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Ukraine’s Parliament (2014-2019)
Voted Leading Global Thinker in 2014 by Foreign Policy magazine
Co-founder, International Centre for Ukrainian Victory
Advisor to the Warsaw Security Forum
“At a time when our information space is polluted by the noise of disinformation carried on a wave of trending populism, the Peterson Literary Fund will no doubt fortify the intellectual ammunition needed to deliver truth and meaning to a wide audience of readers. The Fund will enable talented authors and translators to share quality content and valuable insight into the millennial history of the Ukrainian people, underscoring the global relevance of their struggles, triumphs, and perseverance.”
Professor Emeritus, Ivey Business School, Western University
Head, Economic Advisory Council to Ukraine’s Ministry of Economics (2014-2015)
“The Peterson Literary Fund is a most welcome new resource in support of important Ukrainian and international publications made possible through the bequest of a truly remarkable man of vision.”
Editor-in-chief of the online edition of “Historical Truth”
Winner of the Ukrainian PEN Club’s inaugural “Georgiy Gongadze Award”
Author of The Case of Vasyl Stus — first place winner of the Ukrainian Book Institute’s “List of 30 iconic books of Ukrainian Independence”
“Supporting Ukrainian book writing and publishing is one of the most noble causes that an intellectual can pursue, wherever he or she may live. Because a nation survives, when its literature thrives.”
Belgian diplomat (French-speaking region of Wallonia-Brussels)
Head of mission in Prague, Hanoi, Tunis, Warsaw and at UNESCO/OECD in Paris
Lecturer, commentator, columnist – l’Année Francophone Internationale (2010-2016)
“Pendant trop longtemps, la littérature ukrainienne est restée confinée à un ghetto ukrainien, tant en Ukraine que dans la diaspora. Seuls quelques rares ouvrages faisaient l’objet de traductions, principalement en langue anglaise. La tragédie vécue aujourd’hui au quotidien par l’Ukraine, suite à la guerre d’attrition menée par la Russie, a replacé l’Ukraine et l’intérêt qu’on lui porte sur la scène internationale. Il est donc primordial que les voix de l’Ukraine et celles d’experts éminents puissent y être entendues dans différentes langues, et c’est là un des rôles essentiels que s’est assigné le Fonds littéraire Peterson.”
American historian, political scientist, poet, writer, translator, artist-painter
Professor of political science at Rutgers University
Author of many books, including Imperial Ends: The Decline, Collapse, and Revival of Empires, (Columbia University Press), and the novel trilogy: The Jew Who Was Ukrainian (2011); Vovochka: The True Confessions of Vladimir Putin’s Best Friend and Confidant (2015); and Pitun’s Last Stand: An Entertainment about the Fall of Russia (2021)
“The world needs to be exposed to Ukraine as much as Ukraine needs to be exposed to the world. The Peterson Literary Fund will do just that.”
Ukrainian journalist, author, political commentator
Winner of the 1989 Golden Pen Award of the Ukrainian Association of Journalists
Host of the tv program “Politclub” on Espresso TV
Editor and host of the program “Roads To Freedom”, produced by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
“Germany’s renowned literary critic, Marcel Reich-Ranicki, once said that he considered German literature to be his homeland. Thanks to the noble mission of your Fund, I am convinced that more and more people from different corners of the globe, representing diverse nationalities, will find a haven in Ukrainian literature. But for that to happen, Ukrainian literature must be supported, nurtured, and its value never taken for granted.”
![Списки [Lists] – Myroslav Laiuk](https://site1787845811.mywhc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/author-photo_and-book-cover.webp)
