The Research Society for Victorian Periodicals is seeking nominations and suggestions of books published in 2016 which are eligible for consideration for the Robert and Vineta Colby Scholarly Book Prize.
The Colby Book Prize was endowed in 2006 in memory of Robert Colby by his wife, Vineta Colby, distinguished scholars and long-time members of RSVP. In 2011, following Vineta’s death, the Board of Directors of RSVP unanimously voted to re-name the prize to honor both Robert and Vineta Colby for their many fine contributions to the study of Victorian periodicals and their long commitment to RSVP.
The Colby Prize is intended to honor original book-length scholarship about Victorian periodicals and newspapers, of the kind that Robert and Vineta Colby themselves produced during their careers. The annual prize is awarded to a book published during the preceding year that most advances our understanding of the nineteenth-century British press. The winner receives a monetary award of up to $2,000 and is invited to speak at the following year’s RSVP conference.
In addition to being published in 2016, the nominated book should have any aspect of the nineteenth-century periodical press as either its central focus or as a substantial element in its scholarly discussion. Edited volumes of essays, reference books, bibliographies and scholarly editions are eligible for consideration, as well as biographies or critical studies of people who edited, financed, contributed to, or illustrated periodicals.
Nominations should be submitted to the chair of the Colby Prize Committee, Kitty Ledbetter at kledbetter@txstate.edu by January 31, 2017. The winner will be announced in April 2017.