The Prize for Best First Book Proposal in Minority History was launched by the BASEES Study Group for Minority History (SGMH) in September 2022 to recognise scholarly excellence among early career academics seeking to publish their original research with a major English-language academic press.
This biennial prize is currently offered by the SGMH for a book proposal of high quality dealing with any aspect of minority history (broadly defined) relating to Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe.
Proposal submissions will be scored by our expert committee against a set of criteria focusing on originality, academic rigour and historiographical significance. All nominations for consideration must be of a scholarly character and written in English; the prize will be awarded to those who can demonstrate the potential to make a major contribution to the field of minority history in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe.
Eligible nominations are singly- or jointly authored proposals for a first monograph. In order to qualify, applicants must have already defended their PhD thesis or have their defence date scheduled. Please note that proposals for edited collections with multiple authors are not eligible for this award scheme.
The deadline for the 2025 application cycle is 31 January.