Peter C. Rollins Book Prize

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The annual NEPCA Book Prize is named for Peter C. Rollins, a renowned scholar in the fields of American and popular culture and a longtime NEPCA benefactor. It honors a work that a special book prize committee feels made a valuable contribution to the discipline in the previous calendar year. The winner receives a cash prize of $500 and a certificate of merit, which will be awarded at NEPCA’s annual conference.

The goal of the Rollins prize is to recognize and celebrate the hard work and accomplishments of local scholars whose publications are shaping and enhancing the intellectual and academic culture of New England and New York.

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Nominations are now open for books published in 2024.  The prize will be awarded at NEPCA’s conference luncheon at the October 2024 conference. The deadline for submission is June 1, 2025. 

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For more information and submission instructions, please read the eligibility requirements below. You should also contact our book award committee chair to make a submission:

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Dr. Christine Garcia
Department of English
Eastern Connecticut State University
garciachris@easternct.edu

 

Other members of the 2024-2025 Rollins Prize committee are:

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• Amanda Fields, Central Connecticut State University, afields@ccsu.edu

• Kathleen Yurko, SUNY Brockport, kccyurko@gmail.com

 

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What are the eligibility requirements?

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1. The book must be an original work that draws upon primary sources.

2. The work must be scholarly in tone.

3. The book must be a thesis-driven monograph.

4. Ideally, the work should appeal to the broad community of popular culture and/or American Studies scholarship.

5. The author must be an individual that lives and works in New England or New York and whose work has benefitted the intellectual life and students of our region. The committee will occasionally consider the work of scholars or authors who have lived and worked in New England or New York within the past 3 years if we believe that the circumstances are compelling and appropriate. Because we are a regional professional organization whose mission is to celebrate the work of local scholars, we reserve the right to focus on local scholars and authors, we reserve the right to focus on scholars and authors who live and work in ME, NH, VT, CT, MA, RI and NY only.

6. The book must have been published in the calendar year prior to the conference. For instance, the 2018 NEPCA conference honored a book published in 2017.

7. The book should be submitted before June 1, 2025. Submissions need to be made by the publisher, not the author. Please contact the committee chair (contact info below) for information about how to submit an entry.

8. The book should be sent to each of the three members of the committee.

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 What books are ineligible?

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1. Collected essays and edited collections

2. Works of fiction and poetry

3. Reference works and textbooks

4. New editions of previously published work

5. Opinion-based essays and/or editorials

6. Most non research-based works

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 What is the nomination process?

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1. Nominations must be made directly by the publisher. Individuals wishing their work to be considered must ask their publishers to contact NEPCA. We do not accept nominations by authors.

2. Each publisher is permitted two nominations per calendar year.

3. Physical copies or e-books must be sent to each member of the prize committee and must be received before June 1, 2025. Contact Dr. Christine Garcia garciachris@easternct.edu for details.

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Previous prize winners are found on this page.

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Still have questions?

 

Contact Dr. Christine Garcia garciachris@easternct.edu.

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Graduate Student Paper Prize

 

NEPCA honors new scholars in the field by granting an annual prize to the graduate student that delivered the best paper at the previous year’s conference. The winner receives a certificate of achievement and a cash award.

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Who is eligible?

 

The competition is open to any individual that has not completed his or her graduate degree at the time they deliver their paper, including those that hold ABD (or MA thesis) status.

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How many prizes are offered?

 

As of 2014, NEPCA offers two prizes each year, the Amos St. Germain Prize and the Carol Mitchell Prize. These prizes are named in honor of two of our colleagues who have been longtime supporters of popular culture studies, NEPCA, and graduate student research.

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 What is the nomination process?

 

Only the session chair in which the paper is delivered can nominate papers. Individuals may request that individual to nominate their paper, but it is the chair’s discretion to do so or not.

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1. Once a paper has been nominated, the paper prize committee chair will contact nominees. The chair will request that copies of the paper be forwarded by a timely date. Those who do not submit by the date will be removed from the pool.

2. Nominated papers will be sent to a committee for reading and evaluation. The committee will select the winning paper during the summer months.

3. The winner will be contacted by the prize committee chair and will be invited to attend the fall conference (fees waived) to accept the prize. If the winner cannot attend, the prize will be mailed.

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IMPORTANT: If your paper is nominated, it is your responsibility to alert the prize committee chair of any change of address or other contact information.  NEPCA can’t honor you if it can’t find you!

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The prize committee will be chaired by Andrea McClanahan, Ph.D. (East Stroudsburg State University ). All questions should be directed to Andrea McClanahan.