About
Established by the American Council of Learned Societies in 1891, this award is now administered by the American Academy of Religion. The award was previously called “Best First Book in the History of Religions” and was renamed in November 2025.
Criteria
- The nomination must be the first book published by the nominee.
- The nominated book must be written by a single author.
- It can be in any subdiscipline within Religious Studies.
- Eligible titles must have copyright dates between January 1 and December 31 of the previous calendar year (e.g., books submitted for consideration of the 2026 award must have publication dates between January 1 and December 31, 2025).
- No proof copies, bound or unbound, will be considered.
- Nominees must be current members of the AAR. An author’s membership in the AAR is required to participate in the program. AAR Staff will confirm membership status during the review process. If membership is not current, nominees will have the opportunity to join. Nominees/authors who do not have current AAR membership will not be eligible for consideration.
- Nominations may be submitted by any person, publisher, or institution with the exception of the jury members. AAR especially encourages nominations from colleagues and self-nominations.
Nomination Instructions
- There is no limit to the number of titles that may be nominated, but only one nomination can be submitted per nomination form.
- Books may be submitted for more than one award category, but each submission must include its own nomination letter and completed nomination form.
- To be eligible for consideration, the nominator must submit a completed nomination form and a letter of nomination by the submission deadline.
- After the nomination form has been submitted, the AAR staff will confirm the nominee’s AAR membership status and contact the publishers to request a copy of the nominated book.
Please do not send copies of nominated books to the AAR Office as they will not be accepted.
Nominations must include the following:
1) Nomination Form
A nomination form must be submitted with each nomination submission. Nominators will be required to provide the following information on the nomination form:
- Book Award Category
- Name of Book Author
- Title of Book
- ISBN -13
- Name of Publisher
- Link to nominated book listing on publisher’s website
- Copyright Date
- Book Author’s Contact Information
- Nominator Contact Information
2) Letter of Nomination
The nomination letter must include the following information:
- Book award category; author name; book title; copyright date; nominator name
- Why the work is outstanding in its field
- How the work differs from established classics
- How the nominated book affects the way you approach research, consider a tradition, or construct your teaching
The completed nomination form and nomination letter must be received by the deadline.
Late, emailed, or incomplete nomination letters or nomination forms cannot be accepted.
Selection Process
The jury chair conducts an initial screening of all eligible nominations to determine a shortlist of titles to be considered by the jury members.
If a nominated book is shortlisted for further consideration, the AAR will request a print copy of the shortlisted title to be mailed by the publisher to the jurors.
Juries for each award category evaluate the shortlisted books and typically confer in summer to make their final selections.
Results are typically announced in early fall.
Notification
Award winners will be notified formally by the AAR office.
The award results are announced on the AAR website and may be included in the Program Book of the AAR Annual Meeting, and in a subsequent issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Religion.
Questions
For any questions, please contact us at awards@aarweb.org.
Current Recipient
Elizabeth O’Brien.
Surgery and Salvation: The Roots of Reproductive Injustice in Mexico, 1770– 1940. The University of North Carolina Press, 2023