The Stephen White Prize for the Best First Book in Slavonic and East European Studies
The Stephen White Prize was established by BASEES in March 2024 in recognition of the outstanding contribution to its field of study made by the late Professor Stephen White. The prize is offered annually by BASEES for an author's first published monograph of exceptional merit and lasting significance for Slavonic and East European Studies broadly defined. Items eligible for nomination are singly or jointly authored monographs. The authors of nominated works must at the time of nomination be members or associate members of the Association.
For the 2023-24 cycle, the White Prize scheme is accepting nominations for books published in 2023. The deadline for nominations is 30 June 2024. The winners will be announced early in 2025 and the prize (if awarded) will be presented at the annual dinner of the 2025 conference.
The works received will be scored by our judges against criteria of originality, rigour and significance. Works nominated for consideration must be of a scholarly character and must be in English. Winners will be works that make a major contribution to Slavonic and East European studies. For 2023-24, our judges are Dr Catherine Baker, Dr Rajendra Chitnis, and Dr Egle Rindzeviciute.
The current regulations are as follows:
1. The prize, of one hundred pounds, plus a ticket to the yearly conference dinner, is offered annually for the best first book in Slavonic and East European Studies.
2. A nomination may take the form of a monograph, usually authored by either one or two authors. Edited collections of essays are not eligible for the scheme.
3. The deadline for submission of nominations shall be 30 June each year in respect of publications whose imprint date is the previous calendar year. The prize is awarded (if a recommendation is made to do so) at the Association's annual conference in the spring of the calendar year following the deadline for submission of nominations.
4. The authors of nominated works must at the time of nomination be members or associate members of the British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies. It is the responsibility of the nominator to check the BASEES membership status of potential nominees and ensure that membership is in place prior to nomination. Nominations of non-members will not be considered.
5. Awards will be made by a jury whose membership will be approved by the Executive Committee of the Association. This will normally consist of a former President of the Association and another judge, both of whom are selected to represent the diversity, breadth and scholarly excellence of the discipline and our organization.
6. The jury will usually award the Prize to one nominated work in any year, but judges can also make honourable mentions.
7. Works may be nominated for consideration by the authors, or by publishers, librarians or other scholars.
8. Nominations should be made on the standard form for this purpose, which is available as a download from this page, and submitted to the Secretary of the Association, or via electronic submission below.
9. Please send copies of the nominated book to all members of this year’s Book Prize committee listed below. Ideally, books will be received before nominations close. Submissions will normally be accepted in hard copy (preferred) or electronic copy (if no hard copy is available). We encourage submission of an electronic copy plus a hard copy. Hard copies should be sent to:
Dr Catherine Baker
History/Humanities
University of Hull
Cottingham Road
Hull, HU6 7RX.
Dr Rajendra Chitnis
Associate Professor of Czech
F.3, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages
47 Wellington Square
Oxford OX1 2ER
Dr Egle Rindzeviciute
FBSS
Kingston University London
Penrhyn Road
Kingston upon Thames
KT6 4EY
10. Work may be submitted both for the Stephen White Prize, Alexander Nove Prize, George Blazyca Prize and the BASEES Women’s Forum prizes, where relevant. More detail on the conditions of the Women’s Forum prizes can be found here.