The William E. Colby Military Writers' Award was established in 1999 by the William E. Colby Military Writers' Symposium at

Norwich University Norwich University – The Military College of Vermont is a private senior military college in Northfield, Vermont. It is the oldest private and senior military college in the United States and offers bachelor's and master's degrees on-cam ...

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the ...

in order to recognize "a first work of fiction or non-fiction that has made a major contribution to the understanding of intelligence operations, military history, or international affairs." It is named in honor of William Egan Colby. As of 2021,

Alex Kershaw Alex Kershaw (born 1966) is an English journalist, public speaker and the author of several best-selling books, including ''The Liberator'', ''The First Wave'', ''The Bedford Boys'' and '' The Longest Winter''. Early life Born in York, Englan ...

is the chair of its selection committee. The Colby Circle was co-founded by writers

Carlo D'Este Carlo D'Este (1936 – November 22, 2020) was an American military historian and biographer, author of several books, especially on World War II. He was a decorated U.S. Army lieutenant colonel. In 2011, he was awarded the Pritzker Literature A ...

and W.E.B. Griffin. The award honorarium is currently administered by the Tawani Foundation in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, and presented at the annua
William E. Colby Military Writers' Symposium
hosted by Norwich University.

Recipients

*2022 Wesley Morgan, '' The Hardest Place: The American Military Adrift in Afghanistan's Pech Valley'' *2021 Mark Treanor, '' A Quiet Cadence: A Novel'' *2020 Adam Higginbotham, '' Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster'' *2019

Paul Scharre Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...

, ''

Army of None An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

'', *2018 Steven E. Sodergren, '' The Army of the Potomac in the Overland & Petersburg Campaigns'', *2017 David J. Barron, '' Waging War: The Clash Between Presidents and Congress, 1776 to ISIS'', *2016

Nisid Hajari Nisid Hajari is an Indian-American writer, editor and foreign affairs analyst. He is the author of ''Midnight's Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India's Partition'', winner of the 2016 Colby Award. Personal life He was born in Bombay and raised in Se ...

, '' Midnight's Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India’s Partition'', *2015

Douglas V. Mastriano Douglas Vincent Mastriano (born January 2, 1964) is an American far-right politician and retired military officer who has served in the Pennsylvania Senate since 2019, representing the 33rd district. A member of the Republican Party, he was t ...

, ''

Alvin York Alvin Cullum York (December 13, 1887 – September 2, 1964), also known as Sergeant York, was one of the most decorated United States Army soldiers of World War I. He received the Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a German machine ...

: A New Biography of the Hero of the Argonne'', *2014 Logan Beirne
''Blood of Tyrants: George Washington and the Forging of the Presidency''
*2013

Thomas P. McKenna Thomas P. McKenna (born July 23, 1930) is a retired United States Army officer and author. His book ''Kontum: The Battle to Save South Vietnam'' won the 2013 William E. Colby Award. Early life McKenna was born on July 23, 1930, and raised in Ne ...

''Kontum: The Battle to Save South Vietnam''
* 2012 Michael Franzak, ''A Nightmare's Prayer'' * 2011

Karl Marlantes Karl Arthur Marlantes (born December 24, 1944) is an American author and Vietnam War veteran. He has written three books: '' Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War'' (2010), ''What it is Like to go to War'' (2011), and ''Deep River' ...

, '' Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War'' * 2010 Jack H. Jacobs, ''If Not Now, When?'' * 2009

Dexter Filkins Dexter Price Filkins (born May 24, 1961) is an American journalist known primarily for his coverage of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for '' The New York Times''. He was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for his dispatches from Afghanis ...

, ''

The Forever War ''The Forever War'' (1974) is a military science fiction novel by American author Joe Haldeman, telling the contemplative story about human soldiers fighting an interstellar war against an alien civilization known as the Taurans. It won the Nebu ...

'', and

Marcus Luttrell Marcus Luttrell (born November 7, 1975) is a retired United States Navy SEAL who received the Navy Cross and Purple Heart for his actions in June 2005 against Taliban fighters during Operation Red Wings in which he was the lone survivor. Luttrell ...

, ''

Lone Survivor ''Lone Survivor'' is a 2013 American Biographical film, biographical war film based on the Lone Survivor (book), 2007 nonfiction book of the same name by Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson (author), Patrick Robinson. Set during the War in A ...

'' * 2008

R. Alan King R. Alan King (Born May 8, 1963) is an American soldier and award-winning author. He is a retired colonel, U.S. Army Reserve. He was awarded two Bronze Star Medals with Valor device and under his command, the 422 Civil Affairs Battion received the ...

, ''Twice Armed: An American Soldier's Battle for the Hearts and Minds in Iraq'' * 2007

John Glusman John A. Glusman is vice president and executive editor at W. W. Norton and Company, the largest independent, employee-owned publisher in the United States, and the author of ''Conduct Under Fire: Four American Doctors and Their Fight for Life as P ...

, ''Conduct Under Fire'', and Ian W. Toll, ''Six Frigates'' * 2006

Nathaniel Fick Nathaniel C. Fick (born June 23, 1977) is an American diplomat, technology executive, author, and former United States Marine Corps officer. He was the CEO of cybersecurity software company Endgame, Inc., then worked for Elastic NV after it acqu ...

One Bullet Away ''One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer'' is an autobiography by Nathaniel Fick, published by Houghton-Mifflin in 2005. An account of Nathaniel Fick's time in the United States Marine Corps, it begins with his experiences at Officer Ca ...

'', and

Kevin Weddle Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant '' Kevan'' is anglicized from , a ...

, ''Lincoln's Tragic Admiral'' * 2005

Sidney Shachnow Sidney Shachnow ( – ) was a Jewish American Holocaust survivor who attained the rank of major general in United States Army. He retired in 1994, after almost 40 years of active service. Biography Surviving the Holocaust, a concentration c ...

and

Jann Robbins Jann may refer to: People Feminine given name * Jann Arden (born 1962), Canadian singer-songwriter ** ''Jann Arden'' (album), her eponymous eighth album * Jann Browne (born 1954), American country singer * Jann Carl (born 1960), American journ ...

''Hope and Honor'', and 2005

Jon Meacham Jon Ellis Meacham (; born May 20, 1969) is an American writer, reviewer, historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical ...

''Franklin and Winston'' * 2004

Bing West Francis J. "Bing" West Jr. (born May 2, 1940) is an American author, Marine combat veteran and former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs during the Reagan Administration. West writes about the military, warfighting, ...

and Major General Ray L. Smith ''The March Up'', and Robert L. Bateman's '' No Gun Ri: A Military History of the Korean War Incident'' * 2003 Bryan Mark Rigg ''Hitler's Jewish Soldiers'' * 2002 Patrick K. O'Donnell ''Beyond Valor'', and Ralph Wetterhahn ''The Last Battle'' * 2001

James Bradley James Bradley (1692–1762) was an English astronomer and priest who served as the third Astronomer Royal from 1742. He is best known for two fundamental discoveries in astronomy, the aberration of light (1725–1728), and the nutation of th ...

with

Ron Powers Ron Powers (born November 18, 1941) is an American journalist, novelist, and non-fiction writer. His works include ''No One Cares About Crazy People: My Family and the Heartbreak of Mental Illness in America''; ''White Town Drowsing: Journeys to Ha ...

''Flags of Our Fathers'' * 2000

B.G. Burkett B. G. Burkett is a retired Army officer and financial advisor. He is best known as co-author of the self-published book ''Stolen Valor'' (1998), written with journalist Glenna Whitley. It received the Colby Award for military writers in 2000. Ea ...

and Glenna Whitley '' Stolen Valor'' * 1999 Fred Chiaventone ''A Road We Do Not Know'', and

Bill Harlow Bill Harlow (born May 30, 1950) is a retired U.S. Navy captain, author, and public relations specialist. He has been the top spokesperson for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and worked in the White House dealing with National Security Medi ...

''Circle William''

References

{{reflist

External links

William E. Colby Award, official website
American literary awards First book awards Awards established in 1999 Military literary awards 1999 establishments in England