The Rodel Institute is delighted to announce the shortlist finalists for its 2024 Edwards Book Award. The Edwards Book Award is an annual prize recognizing books that make an outstanding contribution to the understanding and practice of democracy and American politics. The prize carries an honorarium of $10,000.

The Rodel Institute received a large volume of excellent book nominations this year. The following nonfiction books published in 2024 were selected as shortlist finalists. This year’s six finalists offer substantive perspectives on democratic values and leadership lessons on the challenges of balancing principles and pragmatism.

The winning book will be announced in September. The University of Virginia’s Frank Batten School of Leadership & Public Policy will host an award ceremony on September 26, 2024 featuring the winner as a keynote speaker. Stanford University’s Francis Fukuyama received last year’s inaugural Edwards Book Award for his book Liberalism and Its Discontents.

A committee of past Rodel Fellows, external academic advisors, and Rodel Institute staff select the longlist, shortlist, and winner. This year’s award committee is comprised of Rodel Felllows Larry Obhof (former OH Senate President), Mike Signer (former Charlottesville, VA Mayor), Miguel Solis (former Dallas School Board Member), and Jamie Woodson (former TN State Senator). The committee’s academic advisors are Ian Solomon, Dean of UVA’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, and Jennifer Siegel, the Bruce R. Kuniholm Distinguished Professor of History and Public Policy at Duke University. Additionally, Rodel staff members John Kroger and Lizzy McCourt Noonan serve as members of the award committee.

The award is named in honor of former Congressman Mickey Edwards. Mickey has inspired generations of American public servants and students as a member of Congress; faculty member at Harvard, Princeton, and American Universities; author of highly respected books on the American political process; and founding executive director of the Rodel Fellowship, the nation’s premier bipartisan leadership development program for elected leaders.