SHEAR Prizes

The Society for Historians of the Early American Republic awards book prizes to original monographs that deal with the period 1776-1861 in America. Certainly, some books that we consider cover a slightly broader time frame than this. But in order to qualify, the book must make its primary scholarly contribution to the history of the early American republic. Within that period, the book may treat virtually any aspect of history, including political, economic, social, or cultural history. In addition, let me emphasize that the book must be an original monograph or a collection of original essays. Editions of primary sources will not be considered, nor will new editions of old books or anthologies of previously published essays.

We will award prizes for books published in 2023 in following categories: SHEAR Best Book, James Broussard Best First Book, James Bradford Best Biography Prize, and Mary Kelley Prize. We interpret that to mean that the book carries a 2023 copyright date. A book with a 2022 copyright date whose publication was delayed until 2023, for example, is normally ineligible.

Please be prepared to send one copy of each of your books that satisfy these guidelines to the members of this year’s Book Prize Committees by May 1, 2024. Please note that there are three different committees for the SHEAR book prizes in the following categories:

The SHEAR Book Prize and James Bradford Best Biography Prize

The SHEAR Book Prize will be awarded to the book that makes the best primary scholarly contribution to the history of the early American republic. As stated above, the book may treat virtually any aspect of history, including political, economic, social, or cultural history.

The James Bradford Biography Prize will be awarded annually to the author of an original biography, broadly defined, published in the previous year, of a person active during the era of the Early Republic. Editions of primary sources will not be considered, nor will new editions of old books or anthologies of previously published essays.

If you wish to make a nomination or nominations for the SHEAR Book Prize and James Bradford Best Biography Prize, please send copies of books by May 1, 2024, to the prize committee judges at the following addresses. Please contact the committee members directly regarding shipping questions.

Professor Craig Friend
1100 High Knoll Court
Raleigh, NC 27603
ctfriend@ncsu.edu

Professor Marcus P. Nevius
409 Jesse Hall
Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy
409 Conley Avenue
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO 65211
mpnevius@missouri.edu

Professor Kelly Gray
12 Galetree Ct.
Cockeysville, MD 21030
egray@towson.edu.

The James H. Broussard Best First Book Prize

The James H. Broussard Best First Book Prize is named for the individual most responsible for the creation of SHEAR as an academic organization. The prize is awarded annually to the best “first book” by a new author published in the previous calendar year and dealing with any aspect of the history of the early American republic.

If you wish to make a nomination or nominations for the James H. Broussard Best First Book Prize, please send copies of books by May 1, 2024, to the prize committee judges at the following addresses. Please contact the committee members directly regarding shipping questions.

Professor Karin Wulf
John Carter Brown Library
Box 1894
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
karin_wulf@brown.edu

Professor Christopher Bonner
University of Maryland, College Park
2115 Francis Scott Key Hall
College Park, MD  20742
cjbonner@umd.edu

Professor Jake Ruddiman
History Department
Wake Forest University
PO Box 7806
Winston Salem NC 27109
ruddimja@wfu.edu

The Mary Kelley Prize

SHEAR will also award the Mary Kelley Prize, honoring the best book published on the history of women, gender, or sexuality in the Early American Republic (1776-1861). The prize is named in honor of Mary Kelley, the Ruth Bordin Collegiate Professor of History, American Culture, and Women’s Studies at the University of Michigan, who has produced path-breaking work on gender and intellectual history, the history of reading, and the history of education and is a past president of SHEAR. This prize marks an opportunity to celebrate her contributions to SHEAR at the same time that we recognize work in a subfield that has moved to the center of our thinking about the Early Republic.

Please send one copy of books that satisfy the guidelines of the Mary Kelley Prize to the members of this year’s prize committee by May 1, 2024.

Professor Cassandra Good
Please email Professor Good for the mailing address: cgood@marymount.edu.

Professor Tamika Nunley
Please email Professor Nunley for the mailing address: tyn4@cornell.edu.

Nan Wolverton
VP for Academic and Public Programs
American Antiquarian Society
190 Salisbury Street
Worcester, MA 01609
nwolverton@mwa.org

The Ralph D. Gray Article Prize

The Ralph D. Gray Article Prize is named for the founding editor of the Journal of the Early Republic. The prize is awarded annually for the best original article published in the previous volume of the JER, as determined by a committee selected by the editors of the journal.

SHEAR Dissertation Prize

SHEAR awards the SHEAR Dissertation Prize to an exceptional unpublished dissertation pertaining to the history of North America from 1776 to 1861. The prize is awarded annually.

April 18, 2024—Announcement re the SHEAR Dissertation Prize

The Society for Historians of the Early American Republic (SHEAR) is delighted to announce a new partnership with the University of Virginia Press on the SHEAR Dissertation Prize, which is awarded annually to an exceptional unpublished dissertation pertaining to the history of North America from 1776 to 1861.

“As the scholarly press of the university founded and designed by Thomas Jefferson, a partnership with the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic seems all too fitting. We are honored to collaborate with SHEAR on their mission to foster the study of the early republican period, encouraging broad diffusion of historical insights through print and electronic media to scholars, students, and the general public,” said Eric Brandt, Director of the University of Virginia Press. Paul Erickson, the current President of SHEAR, added, “The University of Virginia Press is an exceptional partner for the SHEAR Dissertation Prize as the organization continues its work of supporting the best scholarship on the early Republic. We look forward to working with the team at UVA Press to highlight the work of rising scholars in the field, and to building awareness of the importance of historical research more broadly.”

SHEAR is the leading scholarly organization for the study of U.S. history from the start of the American Revolution to the beginning of the Civil War. In addition to holding an annual conference, SHEAR publishes the Journal of the Early Republic as well as The Panorama, an online forum for work on the early Republic. The University of Virginia Press has a strong tradition of publishing books that offer new insights and cutting-edge perspectives on the history of the early Republic and the antebellum period leading up to the Civil War. SHEAR Dissertation Prize winners will work with UVA Press’s Editor for History and Politics Nadine Zimmerli on converting their promising dissertations into successful first books. Each SHEAR Dissertation Prize winner will have the opportunity to workshop their first-book manuscripts in Charlottesville with local experts as well as two invited outside readers. For the 2024 competition, please submit the dissertation’s table of contents, the introduction, and a sample chapter to Nadine Zimmerli at nizimmerli@virginia.edu by June 3, 2024.

SHEAR Manuscript Prize

SHEAR awards the SHEAR Manuscript Prize to an exceptional unpublished dissertation pertaining to the history of North America from 1776 to 1861. The prize is awarded annually for the best original article published in the previous volume of the JER, as determined by a committee selected by the editors of the journal.

If you have questions regarding any of the prizes, please contact shear@wm.edu.