We are delighted that Ellis Island by Małgorzata Szejnert (trans. Sean Gasper Bye) has been shortlisted for the Historical Writers Association Non-Fiction Crown Award 2021. The prize seeks books that stand out for their originality in research and perspective, their brilliant writing and their powerful narrative force.
Judges for this year's prize are: Clare Mulley (chair), Jessie Childs, Dan Jones, Jagjeet Lally and Luke Pepera. The winners will be announced at the HWA Crown Awards celebration on 24 November 2021. For more information about the prize and the other shortlisted titles, please visit The Historia Magazine website here.
Congratulations to Małgorzata and Sean!
A SPECTATOR BOOK OF THE YEAR
Whilst living in New York, journalist Malgorzata Szejnert would often gaze out from lower Manhattan at Ellis Island, a dark outline on the horizon. How many stories did this tiny patch of land hold? How many people had joyfully embarked on a new life there — or known the despair of being turned away? How many were held there against their will? In this landmark work of history, she brings the voices of the past vividly to life, transforming our understanding of the immigrant experience.
Ellis Island draws on unpublished testimonies, memoirs, and correspondence from internees…
Malgorzata Szejnert
For forty years, Malgorzata Szejnert (b. 1936) has been one of Poland’s…
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Sean Gasper Bye
Sean Gasper Bye is a translator of Polish, French, and Russian…
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