February 5, 2021
ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN PUBLISHERS NAMES 2021 PROSE AWARD WINNERS FOR EXCELLENCE AND THE R.R. HAWKINS AWARD
Cambridge University Press, Harvard University Press, John’s Hopkins University Press, and W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. are Honored Top PROSE Awards Prize, The R.R. Hawkins Award, Goes to Cambridge University Press’ Ancient Maya Politics: A Political Anthropology of the Classic Period 150–900 CE
The Association of American Publishers (AAP) today announced the five winners of the PROSE Excellence Awards, which recognize scholarly publications that are best-in-class in five categories: Biological & Life Sciences, Humanities, Physical Sciences & Mathematics, Reference Works, and Social Sciences, as well as the program’s top prize, the prestigious R.R. Hawkins Award.
“Outstanding scholarship, brilliant writing and genuinely innovative thinking are all abundantly evident in this year’s Excellence and R.R. Hawkins awards,” commented Syreeta Swann,Vice President, Programs and Administration, AAP. “The houses behind these stellar works – Cambridge University Press, Harvard University Press, John’s Hopkins University Press, and W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. – played a critically important role identifying and nurturing authors and delivering these magnificent works to expand the world’s shared store of knowledge. With these awards we recognize that critically important work and thank the winning publishers for their generous contributions to scholarship and publishing at large.”
Of particular note among the five Excellence Award winners is this year’s R.R. Hawkins Award winner, Ancient Maya Politics: A Political Anthropology of the Classic Period 150–900 CE, from Cambridge University Press.
Mandy Hill, Managing Director, Academic Publishing for Cambridge University Press, commented, “Winning at the PROSE Awards means a very great deal, as they recognise both the outstanding scholarship of the works themselves and the partnership between author and publisher that’s vital to publishing excellence. So, it’s a real honour to have won two of this year’s top awards, including the prestigious RR Hawkins Award.
“I am also very proud that the depth and breadth of our publishing was recognised, with these awards in Archaeology and Cosmology alongside seven other subject category winners. That strength of publishing is thanks to our fantastic authors and our wonderful colleagues, whose hard work and passion for their subjects are so evident in these awards.”
“Simon Martin (University of Pennsylvania) is a master of the material in terms of epigraphy, archaeology, and the theoretical aspects of political organization in the past,” commented PROSE Chief Judge Nigel Fletcher-Jones, PhD. “Ancient Maya Politics is a major advance in our understanding of the Maya and deserves recognition at the highest level. Cambridge University Press are also to be commended for producing an attractively designed volume that readily draws the reader into the discussion.”
A panel of 23 judges reviewed 595 entries to this year’s PROSE Awards program, elevating works that speak to the breadth, depth, and criticality of scholarly publishing. Throughout January AAP announced the results of its program, narrowing the field from 130 Finaliststo 45 Category Winnersto today’s five Excellence Award winners, and the ultimate PROSE prize, the R.R. Hawkins Award.
2021 PROSE ExcellenceWinners are as follows:
PROSE Award for Excellence in Biological and Life Sciences
- Desert Navigator: The Journey of an Ant, Rüdiger Wehner, Harvard University Press
PROSE Award for Excellence in Humanities AND R.R. Hawkins Award Winner
- Ancient Maya Politics: A Political Anthropology of the Classic Period 150–900 CE, Simon Martin, Cambridge University Press
PROSE Award for Excellence in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
- A Philosophical Approach to MOND: Assessing the Milgromian Research Program in Cosmology, David Merritt, Cambridge University Press
PROSE Award for Excellence Social Sciences
- Mind Over Media: Propaganda Education for a Digital Age, Renee Hobbs, foreword by Douglas Rushkoff, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
PROSE Award Excellence in Reference Works
- Frogfishes: Biodiversity, Zoogeography, and Behavioral Ecology, Theodore W. Pietsch and Rachel J. Arnold, Johns Hopkins University Press