The Christopher G. Moore Foundation is pleased to announce the winner of their fifth annual literary prize honouring books that feature human rights themes.

The End of Where We Begin: A Refugee Story by Rosalind Russell (Impress Books 2020) has been chosen as the best book with the human rights theme, published between 1 July, 2020 and 30 June 2021.

The Moore Prize has been established to provide funds to authors who, through their work, contribute to the understanding and universality of human rights. This unique initiative is awarded annually, as chosen by a panel of judges whose own work focuses on human rights.

The 2021 jury, comprised of Chief Judge Adrienne Loftus Parkins, Debbie Stothard and Minh Bui Jones, unanimously agreed that The End of Where We Begin met the criteria of the prize with extraordinary clarity, compassion and impact. Russell created a compelling portrait of three diverse individuals who escape South Sudan as civil war erupts. She exposes their loss of family, home and livelihood and their endless struggles to survive and live productive lives despite attack, injury, exile and trauma - made all the more difficult by the pandemic.

The End of Where We Begin brings into focus a major human rights crisis that is often overlooked, and engages our hearts with vivid and moving stories of characters whose undaunted will prevails against overwhelming odds.

Please share the Moore Prize 2021 announcement in your newsletter, blog, and on social media. It is important to let others know about a significant book that examines with eloquence and passion the courage of those who give hope to others who find themselves and their families under attack.

Chief Judge Adrienne Loftus Parkins explains the background of the selection in this video: https://youtu.be/iO4NscVP0Ng

The three Judges discuss the decision-making process and the purpose of the Moore Prize in this 32-minute video: https://youtu.be/pDVlbU6ljm8