Ohio literary peace awards go to books on 20th century wars

Two books focused on the aftermath of 20th century wars are winners of awards from an Ohio group that celebrates the power of literature to foster peace, social justice and global understanding.

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize nonfiction winner is "Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War," Susan Southard's examination of the enduring impact of the U.S. use of the atomic bomb on the Japanese city in World War II. Viet Thanh Nguyen won for fiction with "The Sympathizer," featuring a double agent in the Vietnam War aftermath.

They each receive $10,000, and will be honored Nov. 20 along with novelist and essayist Marilynne Robinson. She earlier won the Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award named for the late diplomat who brokered 1995 Bosnia peace accords reached in Ohio.

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Online: http://daytonliterarypeaceprize.org