SHEAR Prizes

SHEAR Prizes 2024

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 April 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.

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.

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.

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

In cooperation with Penn Press, 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. For more information, contact Bob Lockhart at rlockhar@upenn.edu

In cooperation with Penn Press, 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.