The Dayton Literary Peace Prize is “the first and only annual U.S. literary award recognizing the power of the written word to promote peace.”

Their goals are:

• To promote peace by encouraging people to read, share, and appreciate literary works about peace,
• To promote the recognition of literature as a force in achieving peace, and
• To establish prizes to recognize writers and the role their books play in educating people about peace.

This years fiction finalists are:

The Surrendered
by Chang-ra Lee

How to Read the Air
by Dinaw Mengestu

Beneath the Lion’s Gaze
by Maaza Mengiste

The Gendarme
by Mark Mustian

Kapitoil
by Teddy Wayne

And the nonfiction finalists:

Crossing Mandelbaum Gate: coming of age between the Arabs and Israelis 1956-1978
by Kai Bird

Little Princes: one man’s promise to bring home the lost children of Nepal
by Conor Grennan

For Us Surrender is Out of the Question (on order)
by Mac McClelland

Unbroken: a World War II story of survival, resilience and redemption
by Laura Hillenbrand

0 0 1 1In the Place of Justice : a story of punishment and deliverance
by Wilbert Rideau

Warmth of Other Suns: the epic story of America’s great migration
by Isabel Wilkerson

Source: http://www.thereader.ca/2008/08/2011-dayton-literary-peace-prize.html