The Dayton Literary Peace Prize, "the first and only annual U.S. literary award recognizing the power of the written word to promote peace," announced earlier this week that Pulitzer-winning civil rights historian Taylor Branch would be the recipient of the third annual "Lifetime Achievement" award, a distinction he shares with Studs Terkel and Elie Wiesel. Branch is most famous for his trilogy of books about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the American civil rights movement—Parting the Waters, Pillar of Fire, and At Canaan's Edge—and is currently working on a book of friendly conversations with Bill Clinton.

Nominations are still open for the regular $10,000 prizes in both the fiction and nonfiction categories, but only until tomorrow, so start that ball rolling now! Once all the nominees are in, a panel of judges will select the winning books for a ceremony in September, which is also when Branch will formally receive his prize.