Former BDN editor named to 2024 National Book Award for Nonfiction shortlist

By Emily Burnham, Bangor Daily News Staff

A former Bangor Daily News writer and editor, Maine native and University of Maine graduate was named to the longlist for the 2024 National Book Award for Nonfiction. 

Ernest Scheyder, who grew up in the Maine towns of Berwick and Willimantic, is one of ten authors whose books were named to the awards’ longlist for nonfiction. His book, “The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives,” came out in January of this year.

“The War Below” details how the growth in mining for lithium, copper and other minerals to create products like electric vehicles, solar panels and cell phones has both powered the fight against climate change and wreaked environmental havoc. Scheyder illustrates the tension between industry leaders, policymakers, conservationists and communities worldwide as the hunt for “new oil” continues to shape our lives. 

Scheyder graduated from the University of Maine in 2006, where he studied journalism and wrote for the Maine Campus. From 2004 to 2006, he worked for the Bangor Daily News as a copy editor and occasional writer. After receiving his masters degree in journalism from Columbia University, Scheyder has spent the past 15 years covering energy, mining and the oil industry for Reuters. 

Scheyder said one of his former colleagues at the BDN, former copy editor Janine Pineo, edited “The War Below.”

“[That was] a nice full-circle moment there,” Scheyder said. “I look back very fondly on my time with the BDN.”

Five finalists for the 2024 National Book Award for Nonfiction will be named in early October, with the winner named at a ceremony in November.