Established in Vienna, Austria, in 2010, HRBA has been awarded exclusively to books published in English. For the first two years, the award was presented during the “Buchliebling Gala” event at the Vienna City Hall. Later, Prof. Johann Fritz, the former Director of the International Press Institute (IPI), coordinated the HRBA together with IPI.
Previous recipients of the HRBA include the following:
1. Jung Chang, “Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China” (HRBA 2010)
Published in 1991, Wild Swans tells the story of the lives of the author, her mother, and her grandmother, over a century. The book won the NCR Book Award in 1992 and was named Book of the Year in 1993. It has been translated into 37 languages and has sold over 20 million copies. Although it was banned in China, the book is available in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
2. Houshang Asadi, “Letters to My Torturer: Love, Revolution, and Imprisonment in Iran” (HRBA 2011)
In his book, the Iranian journalist and writer Houshang Asadi describes the inhuman degradation and brutal torture he was exposed to while imprisoned in Tehran. Today, the author lives in exile in France with his wife.
3. James Dawes, “Evil Men” (HRBA 2013)
In this book, the U.S. writer examines the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) and its atrocities through the results of interviews conducted with soldiers who participated in it. The author evidences the absurdity of the war and the level of inhumanity, which resulted in soldiers committing unimaginable and atrocious crimes against other human beings: murder, torture, and rape, as well as medical experimentation on living subjects.
4. Hugh Lewin, “Stones Against the Mirror” (HRBA 2014)
Published in 2011, Hugh Lewin’s book deals with the devastating events associated with the African Resistance Movement, of which he was a key member, as well as his involvement in the Human Rights Violation Committee of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) from 1996 to 1998. Presenting his journey of truth and reconciliation, achieved both internally and together with his trenchant commentary on the TRC, the book introduces the reader into a new post-TRC moral realm.