American Literature Society Seeking Submissions for 1921 Prize

Posted on by Center for Mark Twain Studies

The American Literature Society is pleased to invite submissions for the 1921 Prize in American Literature, which is awarded annually for the best article in any field of American literary studies. The prize is named for the year the organization was founded “to promote and diversify the study of American Literature.” Judged by a panel comprised of members of the American Literature Society Advisory Board and other scholars in the field, the competition will be divided in two categories: one for tenured faculty and one for graduate students, scholars in contingent positions, and untenured faculty members. The winner will be announced at the 2023 MLA awards ceremony.  

Rules for the competition:

  • Submissions must be published during the calendar year of 2022.  For submissions that have not yet appeared in print by the September 12 deadline, authors are requested to provide verification that their essay will be published within the calendar year.  
  • No person may nominate more than one essay in a given year.
  • Articles must appear in one of the following journals: African American Review; American Literary History (ALH); American Literary Realism; American Literature; American Periodicals; Arizona Quarterly; Callaloo; Contemporary Literature; Early American Literature; ELH; ESQ; ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment; J19; Journal of Ethnic American Literature; Legacy; MELUS; Mississippi Quarterly; Modern Language Quarterly; Modernism/Modernity; Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS); Nineteenth-Century Literature; NOVEL: A Forum on Fiction; Post45; PMLA; Resources for American Literary Study; Studies in American Fiction; Studies in American Indian Literatures; Studies in the Novel; Twentieth-Century Literature; and journals devoted to specific authors (e.g., Leviathan, The Emily Dickinson Journal). Essays that appear elsewhere will not be considered.
  • Authors must be members of the American Literature Society. If you haven’t already, please join! Membership is free—just go to:  https://www.als-mla.org/als/membership/
  • Please send an electronic copy of the nominated essay (PDF preferred) to the Prize Committee by September 12, 2022 at [email protected] 

If you have any questions, please contact Cody Marrs, Chair of the 1921 Prize Committee, [email protected]. 

URL: https://www.als-mla.org/als/awards/1921-prize-in-american-literature/ 

Prize Committee for 2022: 

  • Adrienne Brown, University of Chicago 
  • Nan Z. Da, University of Notre Dame
  • Fiona Green, University of Cambridge 
  • Cody Marrs, University of Georgia (chair) 
  • Rafael Walker, Baruch College, City University of New York