David J. Langum, Sr. Prize in American Legal History or Biography
This $1,000 prize is made annually to the best book in American legal history or biography that is accessible to the educated general public, rooted in sound scholarship, and with themes that touch upon matters of general concern to the American public, past or present.
Publishers must submit books to be considered for this prize, and must submit three copies to the address indicated on the Contact page by December 1st of their first publication. Books published in December are eligible and must be submitted for that year’s prize, but may be submitted by December 1st in advanced reading copies or proofs.
We hope that this prize will not only serve as an incentive for excellent writing, but also as a vetting process. It is intended to be a guide to the general public, bookstores, and acquisitions librarians—to all who may seek readable and sound legal history and biography, scholarship that is accessible to the educated general public.
Recent winners and finalists include:
Beth Lew-Williams John Doe Chinaman: A Forgotten History of Chinese Life Under American Racial Law (Harvard, 2025)
Jill Lepore, We The People: A History of the U.S. Constitution (Liveright, 2025)
Stuart Banner, The Most Powerful Court in the World: A History of the Supreme Court of the United States (Oxford, 2024)
Hendrik Hartog, Nobody’s Boy and His Pals: The Story of Jack Robbins and the Boys’ Brotherhood Republic (Chicago, 2024)
Dylan Penningroth, Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights (Norton, 2023)
Inquiries or submissions (3 copies) for the Langum Prize in American Legal History/Biography should be sent to the chairman of its selection committee, William G. Ross, Cumberland School of Law, 800 Lakeshore Drive, Birmingham, AL 35229, wgross@samford.edu.