Nicholas D. Kristof, a columnist for the New York Times, and Sheryl WuDunn, a former reporter and editor for the Times, were named the recipients of the 2009 Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Lifetime Achievement, its organizers announced on Wednesday.

In recognition of their work chronicling human rights in Asia, Africa, and the developing world, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Committee today announced that authors and journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn will receive the 2009 Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Lifetime Achievement.

Celebrating the power of literature to promote peace and nonviolence, The Dayton Literary Peace Prize is the only international literary peace prize awarded in the United States. It was founded in 2006 as an outgrowth of the Dayton Peace Prize, which commemorates the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords ending the war in Bosnia. Winners receive a $10,000 honorarium and runners-up receive $1,000.

Since becoming the first married couple to win a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of the Tiananmen Square protests for the New York Times, Kristof and WuDunn have collaborated on such influential, milestone books as China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power and Thunder from the East: Portrait of a Rising Asia. In 2006, Kristof received a second Pulitzer Prize for his New York Times op-ed columns on Darfur. Their latest book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, will be released in September 2009.

“Kristof and WuDunn share a passion for peace and justice that inspires both readers and leaders to pay attention to difficult issues that are too often ignored and overlooked,” said Sharon Rab, chair of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Committee. “Their writing and reporting exemplifies the power of the written word to create change and spur people and nations to action.”

That’s great and deserving news. Kristof and WuDunn are appearing at 92Y on Sep 13 with Dan Rather to discuss “Women in the Developing World” and their new book. No doubt, it will be an illuminating evening.

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