The John K. Fairbank Prize in East Asian History is offered annually for an outstanding book in the history of China proper, Vietnam, Chinese Central Asia, Mongolia, Manchuria, Korea, or Japan, substantially after 1800. It honors the late John K. Fairbank, Francis Lee Higginson Professor of History and director of the East Asian Research Center at Harvard University, and president of the Association in 1968. Only books of high scholarly and literary merit will be considered. Anthologies, edited works, and pamphlets are ineligible for the competition. See the list of past recipients.

The general rules for submission are:

1. Books with a copyright of 2019 will be eligible for the 2020 prize.
2. Nomination submissions may be made by an author or by a publisher. Publishers may submit as many entries as they wish. Authors or publishers may submit the same book for multiple AHA prizes.
3. Nominators must complete an online prize submission form for each book submitted.
4. One copy of each entry must be sent to each committee member and clearly labeled “Fairbank Prize Entry.” Print copies preferred unless otherwise indicated. If only e-copy is available, please contact review committee members beforehand to arrange submission format.

Please Note: Given the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 crisis, we are adjusting the submission process for AHA Book Prizes:

• Nominators must complete the online prize submission form by MAY 15.
• When possible, nominators are also encouraged to send hard copies (or e-books, if hard copies are unavailable) by the May 15 deadline to provide prize committees with ample time to review submissions.
• However, we are extending the deadline to receive hard copies of books by JUNE 15.

Entries will not be returned. Recipients will be announced on the AHA website in October 2020 and recognized during a ceremony at the January 2021 AHA annual meeting in Seattle.

For questions, please contact the Prize Administrator.