Morris D. Forkosch Prize
The submission deadline has passed. Awardees are announced in the fall, and the next contest will begin in spring 2023.
The American Historical Association offers the Morris D. Forkosch Prize annually in recognition of the best book in English in the field of British, British imperial, or British Commonwealth history since 1485. Submission of books relating to the shared common law heritage of the English-speaking world are particularly encouraged in memory of the late Professor Forkosch’s contributions to the field of legal studies and legal history.
The current prize amount is $1,000. See the list of past recipients.
The general rules for submission are:
- Books with a copyright of 2022 will be eligible for the 2023 competition.
- 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.
- Nominators must complete an online prize submission form for each book submitted.
- One copy of each entry must be sent to each committee member and clearly marked “Forkosch Award 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: Entries must be received by May 15, 2023, to be eligible for the 2023 competition. Entries will not be returned. Recipients will be announced on the AHA website in October 2023 and recognized during a ceremony at the January 2024 AHA annual meeting in San Francisco.
For questions, please contact the Prize Administrator.
2022 Forkosch Prize
Paul R. Deslandes, University of Vermont
The Culture of Male Beauty in Britain: From the First Photographs to David Beckham (Univ. of Chicago Press)
In this deeply researched book, Paul R. Deslandes demonstrates that male beauty has its own rich history. He documents how standards of male beauty have changed over the last century and a half. Ideals about male beauty merged with evaluations of character and accomplishment, which were highly inflected by assumptions about class, race, and sexuality. Drawing on a wide variety of sources, Deslandes links the culture of beauty to topics as varied as consumerism, sports, warfare, and celebrity.