[Submissions for the Law and Society Association’s J. Willard Hurst Prize are accepted until January 9, 2018. Here is the announcement.]
In the spirit of Willard Hurst's own work, the Hurst Prize is given to the best work in socio-legal history. The field of socio-legal history is broadly defined to include the history of interrelationships between law and social, economic, and political change; the history of functions and impact of legal agencies, legislative and administrative as well as judicial; the social history of the legal profession; and similar topics. Self-nominations are accepted. Nominators must be current LSA members.
Textbooks, casebooks, and edited collections are not eligible for the award, but monographs will be considered. The Association seeks studies in legal history that explore the relationship between law and society or illuminate the use, function, and cultural meaning of law and society. The Association discourages submission of purely doctrinal studies in the evolution of appellate case law.
The responsibility of ensuring that a work is submitted for the most appropriate book prize rests with the nominator. As a rule of thumb, books that have a significant historical focus should be directed to the Hurst Prize, while other works of socio-legal scholarship should be directed to the Jacob Prize. A book submitted for both prizes may end up being considered for neither.
The award carries a cash prize of $500.
Nominations require:
Nominators must be current LSA members.
Books must be published in English, or be English translations of original works.
Books submitted must have a copyright date (regardless of actual publication dates) during the calendar year prior to the award ceremony.
Page proofs may be sent if the book will be published soon with the proper year’s date.
Only one single-authored work by the same author in a given year will be accepted. Two works by the same author will be accepted if one or both works are jointly authored.
A letter of support from the nominator, including a synopsis of the book.
Self-nominations are accepted.
Copies of the book are required to be sent directly to the J. Willard Hurst Book Prize Committee Members. Addresses will be provided after the nomination is submitted.
All supporting documents must be submitted in English and be in .DOC, .RTF, or .PDF format.
Committee members may live in other countries. Please take this into consideration for shipping time. All committee members must receive books by January 9th, 2018 to be considered.
