Dr. James Orbinski’s “deeply personal” and “deeply political” best-selling book, An Imperfect Offering: Humanitarian Action in the Twenty-first Century, was recently named winner of the ninth annual Shaughnessy Cohen Prize.

Dr. Orbinski, a Trent alumnus and founder and past president of Doctors Without Borders (MSF), was honoured with the $25,000 award on March 4 by the Writers’ Trust of Canada. The prize is awarded annually to the best book of political writing by a Canadian.

The other finalists were Daphne Bramham (The Secret Lives of Saints: Child Brides and Lost Boys in Canada's Polygamous Mormon Sect), Erna Paris (The Sun Climbs Slow: Justice in the Age of Imperial America), Marie Wadden (Where the Pavement Ends: Canada's Aboriginal Recovery Movement and the Urgent Need for Reconciliation) and Chris Wood (Dry Spring: The Coming Water Crisis of North America).

In An Imperfect Offering: Humanitarian Action in the 21st Century, Dr. Orbinski takes readers on a journey to some of the darkest places of our history and sheds light on some incredible acts of courage and empathy.

As head of mission both in Zaire during the refugee crisis of 1996-97 and in Rwanda during the civil war and genocide in 1994, and as a medical coordinator in Somalia during the 1992-93 famine and civil war, Dr. Orbinski has witnessed these challenging moments and inspirational stories first-hand.

Dr. Orbinski’s journey to complete An Imperfect Offering is also chronicled in the documentary film, Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma. The film, which was screened at the Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto in April 2008, follows Dr. Orbinski back to Rwanda, the Congo and Somalia to confront his past and the tragedy he faced in choosing who would live and who would die.

In 1999, Dr. Orbinski accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of his organization, Medecins sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Currently, Dr. Orbinski is the co-founder and chair of the Board of Directors of Dignitas International, a medical humanitarian organization working with communities to dramatically increase access to life-saving treatment and prevention in areas overwhelmed by HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Orbinski graduated from Trent University in 1984 with a degree in Psychology. Trent presented Dr. Orbinski with an honorary degree in 2001