Chapman professor wins National Book Critics Circle Award

Tom Zoellner, a professor within the Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, won the 2020 National Book Critics Circle Award in nonfiction for his account of the 1831 Christmas Rebellion in his book “Island on Fire: The Revolt That Ended Slavery in the British Empire.” Photos courtesy of Zoellner

Many Americans hear “Jamaica” and see a series of tropical images flash through their minds: palm trees, frozen drinks, sun beating down on white sand. What is often neglected, though, is an acknowledgment of the brutal history of enslavement and British colonization on the island.

Tom Zoellner, Chapman professor, nonfiction winner of the 2020 National Book Critics Circle Awards

Tom Zoellner, a professor within Chapman’s Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, knew this and sought to tell that oft-forgotten piece of Jamaican history in his recent book “Island on Fire: The Revolt That Ended Slavery in the British Empire.” Published last May by Harvard University Press, the book recently won the 2020 National Book Critics Circle Award in nonfiction.

“Island on Fire” focuses on the Christmas Rebellion, an uprising of enslaved people in Jamaica led by Baptist preacher Samuel Sharpe that began on Christmas Day in 1831. Zoellner said the revolt’s historical significance is frequently overlooked.

“This was incredibly consequential, in a way that doesn’t seem to get the appreciation that it’s due,” Zoellner said. “There was no one book on the subject of the rebellion, except for small academic monographs; there wasn’t a narrative for a popular audience about it.”

Zoellner speculated that this ignorance stems from the uprising’s brief duration. He explained that despite ending quickly, its consequences were far-reaching.

“The rebellion was, by military standards, a failure,” Zoellner said. “It was the largest revolt ever in the British West Indies, but it was quashed within five weeks. However, it was a victory because the news about it galvanized an already noisy anti-slavery movement in Britain.”

Zoellner has made a career crafting narratives out of niche topics, ranging from uranium to trains. As both a writer and professor, he is straightforward — perhaps even blunt. But at the same time, he’s approachable, with an easy sense of humor.

Jordan Sapp, a sophomore creative writing major who took Zoellner’s “Writing Creative Nonfiction” course in fall 2020, described his class environment as both transparent and warm.

“He called one of my pieces dazzling, and I think about that a lot,” Sapp said, laughing. “I admire how he’s brutally honest but in a very polite way, where it doesn’t hurt your feelings. He never overpowered the room with what he thought about a piece, but he always had a strong presence.”

Zoellner explained that his experience as a student in these types of classrooms laid the foundation for a career that led him to write “Island on Fire.” 

“In college, what was helpful was the idea that the liberal arts gives you a broader sense of how the world fits together,” Zoellner said. “This book is a case of, obviously, history, but also literature and biology, all coming into play together. A liberal arts education such as is possible in Wilkinson College gives people that ability to really think about big topics in big ways.” 

After graduating from Lawrence University, Zoellner started a lengthy career as a journalist and published his first book in 2007.

“For what it’s worth, I didn’t start writing my first book until I was 35 years old, so this took a while to develop,” Zoellner said. “Doesn’t 35 just seem incredibly old, by the way?... I still feel like I’m 12 years old; I’m every bit as competent and incompetent as I was then.

Steeped in the horrific history of the triangular slave trade, Zoellner’s research process for “Island on Fire” included archival trips to three different continents and a close look at colonial documents, sites of former plantations and remnants of “slave castles” in Ghana. Zoellner’s precision and devotion to historical accuracy resulted in the book being named a finalist for a 2020 Bancroft Prize, an award given by Columbia University for distinguished works of history.

That award is especially unique given that Zoellner is situated as a professor outside of the academic field of history. Robert Slayton, a professor of American history at Chapman, said the designation is prestigious. 

“The Bancroft is like the Oscars of American History,” Slayton said. “Zoellner’s nomination puts him in the top ranks of Chapman faculty, in my opinion. It brings distinction to him but it also brings distinction to the university, and it raises our status as a faculty.”

Zoellner said that he wrote the book to be read by popular audiences and that the news of both his National Book Critics Circle Award win and his finalist status for the Bancroft Prize came as pleasant surprises.

“It was totally unexpected,” Zoellner said. “Total shock. I don’t have a Ph.D. and some historians can be sort of snobby about that, which might have worked against me a little. But history should not always be in the hands of the experts.”