Starting this year, the eligibility dates for AHA book prizes will be aligned with the calendar year listed on the book’s copyright page. This decision follows careful consideration by the AHA Council.

In previous years, eligibility for each award ran from May 1 to April 30. Members of book prize committees and some publishers reported, however, that these dates were a significant source of confusion.

For this year’s competition, all books published in 2012 will be eligible. The AHA is sensitive the fact that a few books (published January 1 to April 30, 2012 and thus eligible last year) will get a second opportunity to be considered. But AHA Council members ultimately concluded that there would be a measure of unfairness in any transition, and that this would be the most efficient way of implementing the new policy. For more on this policy change please read the original announcment, here.

This post first appeared on AHA Today.