Five biographical tales have been shortlisted for Canada's Charles Taylor Prize for literary non-fiction.

Acclaimed historian, author and Charles Taylor Prize juror Charlotte Gray announced this year's five finalists in downtown Toronto Tuesday morning.

Vying for the $25,000 honour are:

• Kevin Bazzana, Lost Genius: The Story of a Forgotten Musical Maverick - A portrait of the life of extraordinary yet troubled pianist Ervin Nyiregyhazi by the music historian, academic and Glenn Gould biographer.
• David Gilmour, The Film Club: A True Story of a Father and Son - The novelist and cultural commentator's account of the fragile relationship he shared with his son when the teen dropped out of high school.
• Lorna Goodison, From Harvey River: A Memoir of My Mother and Her People - The poet's retelling of her family's story and portrait of her ancestors' lives.
• Richard Gwyn, John A.: The Man Who Made Us: The Life and Times of John A. Macdonald, Volume One: 1815-1867 - The noted author and columnist's biography of Canada's first prime minister, up to the day of Confederation, which the three-juror panel described as "lively but thorough."
• Anna Porter, Kasztner's Train: The True Story of Rezso Kasztner, Unknown Hero of the Holocaust - The former publishing maven's exploration of the controversial Kasztner, a Hungarian Jew who through his so-called "deal with the devil" convinced Nazi officials to accept payment in exchange for sending Jews to neutral Switzerland instead of to concentration camps.

The winner will be named at a luncheon in Toronto on March 3.

Each year, organizers of the Charles Taylor Prize recognize a Canadian writer who has written a book that "demonstrates a superb command of the English language, an elegance of style and a subtlety of thought and perception."

Past winners have included Rudy Wiebe, Carol Shields, Wayne Johnston, Isabel Huggan, Charles Montgomery and J.B. MacKinnon.

MacKinnon joins Gray and former deputy prime minister John Manley on this year's three-member jury.

Established in memory of Canadian essayist, author and former Globe and Mail correspondent Charles Taylor, who died in 1997, the prize was originally awarded every other year. In 2004, the prize became an annual honour.