From the Frontlines to The Hill: TIME’s Simon Shuster to Receive Colby Award at Norwich University’s 2025 Military Writers’ Symposium

Simon Shuster, a senior correspondent at TIME, provides an unparalleled view behind the political curtain in his critically acclaimed book The Showman: Inside the Invasion That Shook the World and Made a Leader of Volodymyr Zelensky. His book has been lauded by the NY Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and The Guardian as both an enthralling narrative and an incisive political portrait. Shuster will accept the 2025 William E. Colby Award at Norwich University’s Military Writers’ Symposium held October 27-28. This year’s symposium theme is The Shadow Front: Unconventional Approaches to Warfare.

The symposium is the signature program of the John & Mary Frances Patton Peace and War Center and remains the only event of its kind at an American university. The Military Writers’ Symposium gathers leading authors, scholars, thought leaders, and military thinkers to explore the evolving face of global conflict. This year, the focus will be on irregular, hybrid, lawfare, and other unconventional approaches to warfare.

Shuster’s The Showman is as unconventional as its subject. Few authors have ever been granted such extensive inner circle access during a conflict which the entire world watched unfold live on screen. Drawn from unprecedented access to Ukraine’s wartime leadership, the book chronicles Zelensky’s transformation from television star to wartime president, demonstrating equal parts media strategist, charismatic leader, and symbol of democratic defiance in the face overwhelming odds.

Named for the former CIA director and OSS veteran, the Colby Award honors a first work of fiction or nonfiction that makes significant contribution to the understanding of military history, intelligence operations, or international affairs. The award is presented in partnership with the Pritzker Military Foundation and the Pritzker Military Museum & Library.

Free and open to the public, the symposium provides an opportunity to hear timely presentations and panel discussions on critical subjects. Shuster will deliver a keynote lecture at 7 p.m. October 27 in Plumley Armory chronicling the bestselling book which is viewed as a defining account of Ukraine’s wartime leadership and the evolving role of media in global diplomacy.

For more information on the symposium, including a detailed schedule of presentations, please visit Norwich.edu.