Around Town: Great vibes and scribes at Politics and the Pen

guest · 2015-03-12

You’ll forgive busy mom Jill Scheer if she hasn’t yet read all five books shortlisted this year for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing.

“I have four young kids, so I’m working my way through them,” she told Around Town just as guests were arriving Wednesday to the Fairmont Château Laurier for this gala town’s number one best-seller, the Politics and the Pen.

Scheer, whose other half is Speaker of the House of Commons Andrew Scheer, headed up the literary gala’s organizing committee with New Democrat Party (NDP) national director Anne McGrath, who was a co-chair last year, too.

From left, Jill Scheer, wife of Speaker of the House of Commons Andrew Scheer, and Anne McGrath, national director of the New Democratic Party (NDP), were the co-chairs of this year’s Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.

“I’ve read a lot of them,” said McGrath. “Although, most of my reading is done in transit. It takes me awhile sometimes to get through them, especially these days.”

From left, Victoria Shore with Andrew Harris from Amazon, U.S. Ambassador Bruce Heyman and Gowlings partner Jacques Shore at the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.

The evening gathered a who’s who of Canadian authors and journalists, federal politicians and senior cabinet minister, and prominent business CEOs. Former newspaper magnate Conrad Black, U.S. Ambassador Bruce Heyman and his wife, Vicki, CBC top news anchor Peter Mansbridge, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz and last year’s prize winner, Paul Wells, were just a few of the faces spotted in the highly influential and recognizable 500-person crowd.

From left, Ken Whyte, founding editor-in-chief of the National Post, with its founder, Condrad Black, and senior Conservative cabinet minister Jason Kenney at the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.

Senator Joyce Murray in conversation with Peter Mansbridge, news anchor of CBC’s The National, at the Politics and the Pen dinner for Writers’ Trust, held Wednesday, March 11, 2015, at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier.

The more than $330,000 raised from the dinner goes to the Writers’ Trust of Canada, a charitable organization founded by authors to advance and celebrate Canadian writers and the creation of new works.
“We have such an amazing diversity of Canadian authors,” said McGrath. “They write things that we need to read, that we need to hear about, and they challenge the power structures of this country, and I think that’s really good.”
This year’s winner of the $25,000 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize was Joseph Heath for Enlightenment 2.0: Restoring Sanity to Our Politics, Our Economy and Our Lives, published by HarperCollins Publishers.

From left, Joseph Heath, who won the 2015 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing, in conversation with fellow author Taras Grescoe at the Politics and Pen dinner held Wednesday, March 11, 2015, at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier.

Early in the evening, before the prize winner was announced, Around Town caught up with Heath, a University of Toronto philosophy professor attending the gala for his first time.
“It’s a bewildering experience,” Heath said at the schmoozy cocktail reception. “It’s nice, obviously. My book is a 400-page book on the subject of reason, so that’s kind of a hard sell. Obviously, anything that can help move the product helps.”

Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing finalist John Ralston Saul with Writers Trust of Canada executive director Mary Osborne at the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wedneseday, March 11, 2015.

From left, Green Party leader Elizabeth May in conversation with Toronto Star journalist and Shaughnessy Cohen Prize finalist Chantal Hébert at the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.

The other finalists were Toronto Star journalist Chantal Hébert with Jean Lapierre for The Morning After: The 1995 Quebec Referendum and the Day that Almost Was, published by Knopf Canada; Naomi Klein‘s This Changes Everything: Capitalism Vs. The Climate, also published by Knopf Canada; John Ralston Saul for The Comeback: How Aboriginals Are Reclaiming Power and Influence, published by Viking Canada; and Graham Steele‘s What I Learned About Politics: Inside the Rise – and Collapse – of Nova Scotia’s NDP Government, published by Nimbus Publishing.
The winner was chosen by a jury made up of Ottawa-based author Denise Chong, Citizen columnist Terry Glavin and Globe and Mail Queen’s Park reporter Jane Taber.

From left, Jane Kennedy with Gillian Cartwright and Kelly Mounce at the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
From left, Don Martin, host of CTV's Power Play, with Speaker of the House of Commons Andrew Scheer and his wife, Jill Scheer, co-chair of the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
Chad Schella and his wife, TV broadcaster Catherine Clark, at the Politics and the Pen dinner held for the Writers' Trust of Canada on Wednesday, March 11, 2015, at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier.
From left, Canadian author Charlotte Gray with Eleanor Wachtel, host of CBC Radio's Writers & Company, at the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
Alexandra Clark, corporate affairs director at Microsoft, with her parents, Global News chief political correspondent Tom Clark and Jane Clark at the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
From left, Justice Minister Peter MacKay with his author wife, Nazanin Afshin-Jam, and former Tory cabinet minister Jay Hill at the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
From left, Rogers Communications vice chairman Phil Lind with the company's president and CEO, Guy Laurence, at the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
From left, Victoria Shore with Andrew Harris from Amazon, U.S. Ambassador Bruce Heyman and Gowlings partner Jacques Shore at the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
From left, author and CBC news anchor Peter Mansbridge in conversation with Vicki Heyman, wife of the U.S. Ambassador, and Bruce Anderson at the Politics and the Pen gala dinner for the Writers' Trust, held Wednesday, March 11, 2015, at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier.
From left, Jennifer Lambert, chair of the board for the Writers' Trust, with Canadian author Elizabeth Hay at the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
From left, Canadian author Joseph Heath, winner of the 2015 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing, is flanked by Maureen Boyd and Lisa Samson, both organizing committee members for the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
CTV's Power Play host Don Martin with law professor Carissima Mathen and Hill + Knowlton's Jackie King at the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
From left, Hill + Knowlton Strategies president and CEO Goldy Hyder with Heather Cudmore and Lou Riccoboni from CH2M HILL at the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
From left, veteran journalist and author Don Newman in conversation with former Tory cabinet minister Jay Hill at the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
From left, Chris Alexander, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, chatted with author Michael MacMillan at the Politics and the Pen gala dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
From left, Canadian authors Gordon Henderson and Richard Gwyn in conversation with former diplomat Colin Robertson at the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
From left, Politics and the Pen committee members Patrick Kennedy and Elizabeth Gray-Smith with U.S. Ambassador Bruce Heyman at the benefit dinner for the Writers' Trust of Canada, held Wednesday, March 11, 2015, at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier.
Susan Smith, Bluesky Strategy Group, with Paul Wells, last year's winner of the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize, and fellow author Mark Bourrie at the Politics and the Pen gala dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
From left, Jill Scheer, wife of Speaker of the House of Commons Andrew Scheer, and Anne McGrath, national director of the New Democratic Party (NDP), were the co-chairs of this year's Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
From left, Joseph Heath, who won the 2015 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing, in conversation with fellow author Taras Grescoe at the Politics and Pen dinner held Wednesday, March 11, 2015, at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier.
From left, Canadian Press Ottawa bureau chief Heather Scoffield with Ailish Campbell, VP with the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, and Globe and Mail journalist Robyn Doolittle at the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
From left, Canadian authors Heather O'Neill and Frances Itani attended the Politics and the Pen dinner in support of the Writers' Trust of Canada, held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
Air Canada president and CEO Calin Rovinescu and Elaine Rovinescu at the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
From left, author Andrew Cohen with Victoria Shore, Stephen Wallace, Secretary to the Governor General, and Gowlings partner Jacques Shore at the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
Shaughnessy Cohen Prize juror Denise Chong with fellow author Lawrence Hill at the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wedneseday, March 11, 2015.
National Arts Centre board chair and Shaw Communications director Adrian Burns with Robert Tennant, founding partner of FoTenn Consultants, at the Politics and the Pen dinner for Writers' Trust, held Wednesday, March 11, 2015, at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier.
Grant McDonald with Rosemary Thompson from the National Arts Centre and his wife, Carol Devenny, at the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
Senator Joyce Murray in conversation with Peter Mansbridge, news anchor of CBC's The National, at the Politics and the Pen dinner for Writers' Trust, held Wednesday, March 11, 2015, at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier.
Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing finalist John Ralston Saul with Writers Trust of Canada executive director Mary Osborne at the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wedneseday, March 11, 2015.
Former senior Conservative cabinet minister John Baird is greeted by Elly Meister at the Politics and the Pen dinner for the Writers' Trust of Canada, held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
From left, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz and his wife, Valerie, in conversation with John Manley, CEO of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, at the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.
From left, Canadian authors Gordon Henderson and Richard Gwyn in conversation with former diplomat Colin Robertson at the Politics and the Pen dinner held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.