The Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award honors a writer who has produced an enduring body of writing on or connected to peace. Formerly known as the Lifetime Achievement Award, the recognition was renamed in honor of Ambassador Holbrooke after his death in 2010.
When Ambassador Holbrooke received the Dayton Peace Prize, the forerunner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, he advised us to pay annual tribute to the peace process and not let the world forget that peace can be forged with words. We are proud to recognize extraordinary writers whose work seeks to promote better understanding and harmony among people, cultures, and nations.
Winners of the DLPP Lifetime Achievement Award include Studs Terkel (2006), Elie Wiesel (2007), Taylor Branch (2008), Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn (2009), and Geraldine Brooks (2010). Barbara Kingsolver (2011) was the first author honored with the Holbrooke Award, followed by Tim O’Brien (2012), Wendell Berry (2013), Louise Erdrich (2014), Gloria Steinem (2015), Marilynne Robinson (2016), Colm Tóibín (2017), and John Irving (2018).
The prize includes a Michael Bashaw sculpture and a monetary award of $10,000.