Anna Porter wins Shaughnessy Cohen Prize
Anna Porter’s most recent book The Ghosts of Europe: Journeys Through Central Europe’s Troubled Past and Uncertain Future won the 2011 Shaughnessy Cohen prize for excellence in political writing at the annual Politics and the Pen dinner on February 16th 2011. Anna’s book (see details HERE) was one of five books shortlisted for the prize. The Canada-Hungary Educational Foundation would like to congratulate Anna for this new success!
To read a Hungarian article about Ghosts of Europe , follow this link.
Anna Porter on democracy in Central Europe
November 15th 2010
Anna Porter’s new book has just been published and is of interest to those involved in Central Europe, including Hungary. Douglas and McIntyre, the book’s publisher describes it this way: Ghosts of Europe: Journeys through Central Europe’s Trouble Past and Uncertain Future is a journalistic tour of what was once known as Mitteleuropa (Central Europe). Bestselling author, Anna Porter, examines the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia and she strives to answer the question “is democracy working.” Read more
Anna Porter on Eastern Europe at St Thomas’s Church, Toronto February 10th 2010
On February 10th 2010 at 8 pm Anna Porter is giving this year’s Gene Stewart Lecture (“Repairing the World”) at St Thomas’s Anglican Church in Toronto. She is talking about Eastern Europe since the fall of the Berlin wall. The previous two lecturers have been General Romeo Dallaire and Dr Roberta Bondar. Anna’s new book tentatively titled “The Ghosts of Europe” will be published later this year.
For more information view the poster.
Anna Porter at the Munk Centre, January 28th 2010
Anna Porter, writer, publisher and advisory board member of the Canada-Hungary Educational Foundation, is giving a lecture entitled “The Ghosts of Europe “ at the Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto on January 28th, 2010 from 2-4 pm. Read more
To read Anna Porter’s biography, click here.
Recent news about Anna:
In August 2009 Anna was invited to speak at the 92nd Street Y in New York about Kasztner’s Train. In February 2009 Anna was interviewed by one of Hungary’s main literary webportals, papiruszportal about Kasztner’s Train. The interview can be found here:
http://www.papiruszportal.hu
In May 2008 Anna Porter participated in the annual Montreal Blue Metropolis International Literary festival and was interviewed about her family’s history, The Storyteller: a Memoir of Secrets, Magic and Lies.
Kasztner vonata Kanadában
A témával foglalkozó kutatókon és a közvetlenül érintetteken kívül a tengerentúli angol nyelvű olvasók számára Kasztner Rezső neve teljesen ismeretlen volt eddig. Kevesen hallottak arról, hogyan, milyen kompromisszumok árán mentett meg az erdélyi származású ügyvéd vagy húszezer magyar zsidót, így a tengerentúlon eddig a morális probléma sem okozott fejtörést, vajon szabad-e az ördöggel cimborálni akár egy jó ügy érdekében is. Read more
Kasztner’s Train wins 2008 Jewish Book Award
On May 9th 2008, it was announced in Vancouver that Anna Porter’s Kasztner’s Train won the Canadian Jewish Book Award for History. The award ceremony took place on June 4, at the Koffler Centre of the Arts in Toronto.
Kasztner’s Train: The True Story of Rezsö Kasztner, Unknown Hero of the Holocaust, is receiving lots of positive recognition not only in Canada but also in the US and the UK. The book will be published in Hungary (in Hungarian translation) later this year. We congratulate Anna warmly on this achievement.
Anna Porter wins Writers’ Trust award
Anna Porter was among authors honoured in Toronto on April 1 at the annual Writers’ Trust Awards.
The Toronto-based writer was awarded the $15,000 non-fiction prize for her latest book, Kasztner’s Train: The True Story of Rezso Kasztner, Unknown Hero of the Holocaust.
Described by the jury as “a chilling but redemptive tale,” the book explores the controversial title character: a Hungarian Jew who made a so-called “deal with the devil” in convincing Nazi officials to accept payment in exchange for sending Jews to neutral Switzerland instead of to concentration camps.
In March, Kasztner’s Train was one of four runners-up for the 2008 Charles Taylor Prize for excellence in literary non-fiction.
New book by Anna Porter released
Anna Porter’s new book, Kasztner’s Train: the True Story of Rezso Kasztner, Unknown Hero of the Holocaust, was released on September 22nd 2007 by Douglas & McIntyre and tells the heart-wrenching tale of a Hungarian lawyer and journalist, Rezsö Kasztner, who rescued thousands of Hungarian Jews during the last chaotic days of World War II – and the ultimate price he paid.
For more information on the book and on Anna Porter, see Douglas and McIntyre’s press release here.
Anna Porter participated in a promotional tour of the book across Canada during the fall of 2007. She read from and discussed the book at the following locations (among others): on October 1st at the Ottawa International Writers’ Festival; October 10- 14 at “Wordfest,” the Banff-Calgary International Writers’ Festival; October 15th, in Edmonton; October 16-20 at the Vancouver International Writers’ Festival; October 23-26 at the International Festival of Authors at Harbourfront, Toronto; October 28th in Montreal and November 29th in Winnipeg. She has also been bringing the book to high school audiences.
Anna Porter’s book on Kasztner was reviewed very positively in the Hungarian daily Nepszabadsag on December 17th, 2007. The article mentions that the book is the first in the English language about the subject of Kasztner’s activities to save Jews during the Holocaust in Hungary. The Hungarian translation of the book is to be published in the spring of 2008. Anna’ s book about her grandfather, The Storyteller, was a success last year and one of the books featured at the 2007 International Book Fair in Budapest where Canada was guest of honour. See our story on that click here…
A Review of “Kasztner’s Train” by Judy Stoffman
Few Canadians know the story of the `Hungarian Oskar Schindler’ – he saved thousands, but it cost his life in the end, His canny relationship with top Nazis saved thousands of Hungarian Jews from the camps. Read more