The Colby Award and Norwich University Military Writers’ Symposium
Celebrating military writing, authors, and ideas since 1999
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Journalist Wesley Morgan wins Colby Award for book about the war in Afghanistan and the troops who served there
2022 COLBY AWARD WINNER Read More -
Vermont native Mark Treanor wins Colby Award for Vietnam-themed novel
2021 COLBY AWARD WINNER Read More -
Adam Higginbotham wins Colby Award for ‘Midnight in Chernobyl’
2020 COLBY AWARD WINNER Read More -
Norwich history professor, Steven E. Sodergren, wins Colby Award
2019 COLBY AWARD WINNER Read More
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Colby Award Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Do you accept self-published books?Answer: Yes. However, per our guidelines, we do not accept self-nominations. To be eligible, a self-published book must be nominated by someone other than the author. For example, an editor, another author, or subject-matter expert… Read More
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The Colby Award is named for William E. Colby, a notable American intelligence officer and former director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Mission/History of the Symposium
The Norwich University Military Writers’ Symposium was designed to expose students, faculty, alumni and the public to the works and views of authors, historians, journalists, and national figures. It aspires to educate, enlighten, and inspire.
The program was originally conceived by former Norwich president MG Russell Todd ’50, USA (Ret.) as a way to bring influential writers to the campus of Norwich University. In 1996, Norwich hosted a small, prestigious group of writers on campus for a two-day series of lectures and panel discussions. Among them was ambassador and former C.I.A. Director William E. Colby, prolific military fiction writer W.E.B. Griffin, military historian and biographer Carlo D’Este ’59, and Philip Caputo, Vietnam memoirist and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. The event was initially known as the Norwich University Military Writers’ Symposium.
William Colby died unexpectedly shortly after that first event, prompting the university to rename the experimental program the William E. Colby Writers’ Symposium in April 1997 to honor the Norwich honorary degree recipient. In 2019, to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the program during Norwich’s bicentennial year, the program reclaimed its original name. Now a program of the Peace and War Center, the symposium and the William E. Colby Award hold a unique place among Norwich’s most celebrated annual traditions.
Since 1996, the symposium has grown to the national prominence it enjoys today, hosting hundreds of military writers, historians, and biographers, and confronting difficult and important issues central to the public’s understanding. Once a single event, the program has evolved to year-round experiences to expand students’ experiential learning.
The symposium is the only program of its kind in existence at an American university. It has brought some of the most prominent military, intelligence, and international affairs writers and historians of our time to central Vermont and Norwich University.
THE COLBY AWARD and NU MILITARY WRITERS’ SYMPOSIUM in partnership with
and with support from
NU Military Writers’ Associates
Experience the Symposium
Don’t see what you’re looking for? Need assistance with accessibility or transcriptions? Email colby@norwich.edu.
