On this page you find information about the 2024 AAIS Book Prize | For past awardees click here.

The AAIS will soon accept submissions for the 2024 AAIS Book Prize.

Up to six prizes will be awarded for the best books in Italian Studies published in 2024. New this year, the 2024 Book Prize will aim for the first time also to recognize and celebrate exceptional translations contributing significantly to the diffusion of Italian culture and scholarship in the English-speaking world. 

We invite publishers, authors, and translators to submit nominations for the following awards: 

  • Literary and Cultural Studies (including Theater, Performance, and Critical Theory)
  • Visual Studies (including Art History, Film, Media, etc.)  
  • History, Society and Politics (including Intellectual History and Philosophy)
  • First Book
  • English Translation of an Italian Book-Length Scholarly Work
  • English Translation of an Italian Book-Length Literary Work

The First Book may also receive an award in one of the other categories.

Translation Category:

  • Submissions of book-length scholarship should encompass a broad range of cultural areas, including but not limited to visual arts, film and media studies, cultural studies, history, and politics. 
  • Submissions of literary texts may be of any genre (novel, short story, theater, poetry, etc.).

Submission Process:

Submissions will be accepted exclusively via the AAIS website starting August 1, 2024. 

Submissions made by publishers must observe the submission requirements (below), most specifically must include demonstration that the author’s membership requirement has been met, and must include the author in any email correspondence. 

Submission Requirements: 

  1. Excepting submissions for the translation prize, books submitted for the award may be in English or Italian.
  2. Edited volumes are not considered.
  3. All books submitted for the award must have been published between January 1 and December 1, 2024. No exceptions. 
  4. All submissions must be received by December 1, 2024. No exceptions.
    1. Any book published in 2024 after December 1 may be exceptionally considered in the 2025 edition of the Prize. 
    2. The March 2025 dates of the conference make this deadline necessary and non-negotiable. 
  5. Consecutive two-year membership policy: all authors submitting books for prize consideration, except those submitting literary texts for the translation prize, must be members at the time of their submission as well as in the year in which the prize is awarded (see below). Literary book authors 'need not' be members. This also means that anyone, save authors of literary submissions, submitting their work for consideration must be a member or their book will not be submitted to jurors. 
  6. All authors or publishers, except for translation prize submissions, should submit a PDF copy of their book, category for which they are participating, and membership information via the form that will be active online (https://aais.italianstudies.net) starting on August 1, 2024. 
  7. Translations: 
    1. Submissions in this category should include a PDF copy of the translated book, the original Italian text, also in PDF, a letter of nomination outlining the significance of the work and the quality of the translation, category for which they are participating (academic/literary), and, only for academic translations, membership information. 
    2. The committees will evaluate submissions based on the quality of the translation, the contribution to the dissemination of Italian culture, and the potential impact on English-speaking audiences.
    3. Special attention will be given to the accuracy, fluency, and overall readability of the translation, as well as the translator’s ability to convey the original work’s style and nuances.

 

In the interests of clarity, let us detail the policy of two consecutive years of AAIS membership for prizewinners: 

  • “Year 1” means the year in which the book is considered for the prize. For example, if their book will be considered for the 2024 prize (awarded in 2025), authors must be a member in both 2024 and 2025. 
  • “Year 2”: membership is required for the year in which the prize is juried and awarded. 
  • Please keep in mind that, since authors in competition will necessarily not know what the outcome will be, they must renew membership by the renewal deadline in the “Year 2” (January 31, 2025) if they wish their scholarship to be considered for the prize.

Membership renewal options and cases:


1. AAIS active member (2024): Step 1 > Please upload proof of payment for the 2024 fee when submitting your book for consideration. You find your payment receipts in the Member Center > My Payment History; Step 2 > Renew your membership in January 2025 and send proof of payment following the instructions that you will receive.
2. AAIS new member: Step 1 > Please complete a membership application in 2024 (fees can be found on this page). New membership are valid for 2 years and your membership will expire at the end of 2025; Step 2 > Upload proof of payment when submitting your book for consideration.
3. AAIS lapsed member: Step 1 > Renew your membership in 2024 and pick the option for 2 year renewal (fees can be found on this page); Step 2 > Upload proof of payment when submitting your book for consideration.
If you need guidance on how to renew your membership, please consult our FAQs page.

For questions and inquiries, please contact Nicoletta Marini-Maio at marinin@dickinson.edu.

Not a member?