George Washington Prize Nominees Offer New Take On America's Founding

MOUNT VERNON, VA — Four historians whose 2022 books offer new perspectives of the Founding Fathers have been nominated for the 2023 George Washington Prize finalists, George Washington's Mount Vernon announced.

The nominees are Mary Sarah Bilder for "Female Genius: Eliza Harriot and George Washington at the Dawn of the Constitution," Fred Kaplan for "His Masterly Pen: A Biography of Jefferson the Writer," Stacy Schiff for "The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams" and Maurizio Valsania for "First among Men: George Washington and the Myth of American Masculinity."

The George Washington Prize is an annual $50,000 award since 2005 recognizing the best books from the past year on America's founding years. The award is given by George Washington’s Mount Vernon, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and Washington College. The winner will be announced Sept. 21 in New York City.

"Each of these four books sheds new light on an extraordinary American from the Revolutionary era," said Adam Goodheart, Director of Washington College’s Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience. "Three of these figures became famous names, while the fourth has been largely—and undeservedly—forgotten. Together, the nominees prove that the saga of our country’s founding still has the potential to surprise and enlighten us."

Nominees were chosen by an independent jury from 50 to 100 books from the past year on America's founding era.

Patrick Spero, the George Washington Presidential Library's executive director, noted all nominees were biographies for the first time.

"It is an enriching group that includes original takes on well-known figures and works that bring individuals to life who have been overlooked for too long," said Spero. "Each book contains important lessons from the past that resonate today; perhaps most important of all is the power of individuals to shape their world."

The four nominees will earn another first as they join a panel discussion together at George Washington's Mount Vernon. The panel will discuss their works at 7 p.m. on Aug. 24 at George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Authors will be available for book signings after the event. The event is free, but registration is requested.