The Littleton-Griswold Prize is an annual award for the best book in any subject on the history of American law and society, broadly defined. In 1961, the Littleton-Griswold Fund Committee created the prize for studies in the legal history of the American colonies and of the United States prior to 1900. The prize was not awarded, however, until 1966, and was abolished the following year. In 1985, the Council revived the prize and expanded the scope to cover all of American history. See the list of past recipients.

The general rules for submission are:

1. Only books of high scholarly and literary merit will be considered.
2. Books with a copyright of 2019 will be eligible for consideration for the 2020 award.
3. 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.
4. Nominators must complete an online prize submission form for each book submitted.
5. One copy of each entry must be sent to each committee member and clearly labeled “Littleton-Griswold 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.