MLA Prize for Independent Scholars
Competition in 2024 for Books Published in 2022 or 2023
Open to Members and Nonmembers of the Association
To recognize and further encourage the achievements and contributions of independent scholars, the Modern Language Association invites authors to compete for the thirty-fifth MLA Prize for Independent Scholars, to be awarded for a distinguished scholarly book published in 2022 or 2023 in the field of English or another modern language or literature. Authors who are not enrolled in a program leading to an academic degree and did not hold a tenured, tenure-accruing, or tenure-track position in a postsecondary educational institution during research and at the time of publication of the book are eligible. (Tenure is understood to include any comparable provision for job security in a postsecondary educational institution.) Normally, part-time instructors and adjunct faculty members are eligible to compete for the prize. Authors of submitted books need not be members of the association. The prize, which consists of a cash award and a certificate, will be presented to the winning author at the association's annual convention in January 2025.
Authors or publishers who wish to submit a work should send it in print and electronic formats. Send a PDF, a CV or brief biographical information, and a completed entry form to awards@mla.org. Send six print copies to the MLA Prize for Independent Scholars, Modern Language Association, 85 Broad Street, New York, NY 10004. In the case of a born-digital publication, send the relevant media or URL and a letter identifying the work to awards@mla.org. Publishers may enter more than one title. Books that have been entered in this competition may also compete for the James Russell Lowell Prize or the MLA Prize for a First Book, provided they meet eligibility requirements. Entries must be received by 1 May 2024. The winning author will be contacted in September, and a public announcement will be made in early December. Because of the volume of submissions, we regret that we are unable to contact each entrant individually.
For further information, or to obtain copies of the entry form, write the coordinator of book prizes (awards@mla.org).
Note: From 1983 to 2010, the MLA Prize for Independent Scholars was offered annually. It is now a biennial prize, with competitions in even-numbered years.
Past winners of this prize