The American Catholic Historical Association awards the following prizes annually:

• The John Gilmary Shea Prize for a published book on the history of the Catholic Church broadly considered.
• The Howard R. Marraro Prize for a work on Italian history or Italo-American history or relations.
• The Peter Guilday Prize for a manuscript, accepted by the editors of The Catholic Historical Review, which is the writer’s first scholarly publication.
• The John Tracy Ellis Dissertation Award to assist a graduate student in the final stages of degree program.
• Several new awards have been announced.

John Gilmary Shea Prize

The John Gilmary Shea Prize is given annually to the author of a book, published during a preceding twelve-month period, which is judged by a committee of experts to have made the most original and distinguished contribution to knowledge of the history of the Catholic Church. Any author who is a citizen or permanent resident of the United States or Canada is eligible. The prize consists of $750.

The 2011 prize will be presented on January 7, 2012, in Chicago at the Association’s ninety-second annual meeting. Books to be entered in the competition must have been published between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2011. Three copies, identified as entries, should be sent by August 1, 2011, one to each of the following members of the committee of judges:

• Professor Katherine Jansen (Committee Chair) , Department of History, 101 Cardinal Hall West, The Catholic University of America, Washington D.C. 20064. jansen@cua.edu
• Monsignor Thomas J. Shelley, Department of Theology, Fordham University, 441 E. Fordham Road, Fordham, New York 10458-9993. tjshelley@fordham.edu
• Professor Charles Parker, Department of History, 3800 Lindell Blvd, St. Louis Missouri, 63108-3414. parkerch@slu.edu

Inquiries may be addressed either to the chairman of the committee, Monsignor Shelley, or one of the other members of the committee whose address is given above or to the administrative offices of the association at acha@fordham.edu

The Howard R. Marraro Prize

The Howard R. Marraro Prize is given annually to the author of a book that is judged by a committee of experts to be the most distinguished work dealing with Italian history or Italo-American history or relations that has been published in a preceding twelve-month period. It is named in memory of Howard A. Marraro (1879-1972), who was a professor in Columbia University and the author of more than a dozen books on Italian literature, history, and culture. In his last will Professor Marraro bequeathed to the Association a sum to be invested as a fund, the income from which would be awarded each year as a prize. The present amount of the prize is $750. Any author who is a citizen or permanent resident of the United States or Canada is eligible.

The 2011 prize will be presented in January 2012, at the Association’s 92nd annual meeting. The submission deadline has since passed. Books to be entered in the competition this year must have been published between May 1, 2010, and April 30, 2011. Three copies of each book, together with a brief curriculum vitae and bibliography of the author, must be postmarked on or before May 15, 2011, and sent to:

Book Prize Administrator
American Historical Association
400 A Street, S.E.,
Washington, DC 20003

Telephone: 202-544-2422

Each copy must be labeled “Marraro Prize Entry.”

The committee of judges consists of three historians representing respectively the American Catholic Historical Association, the American Historical Association, and the Society for Italian Historical Studies, for each of which Professor Marraro endowed a prize.

The representative of the American Catholic Historical Association is Professor Margaret King of the Department of History, Brooklyn College, City University of New York.

Professor King can be contacted at:

Department of History
2900 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11210-2889

Phone: (718) 951-5303

E-mail: marglking@gmail.com

The Peter Guilday Prize

The Peter Guilday Prize is awarded for a manuscript, accepted by the editor of the Catholic Historical Review, that is the author’s first scholarly publication. Entries must be submitted as articles; those received in the editorial office by September 1 of any year will be considered for that year’s prize, the amount of which is $100. The winning article will be published in the following year. Any author who is a citizen or permanent resident of the United States or Canada is eligible.

The John Tracy Ellis Dissertation Award

The John Tracy Ellis Dissertation Award, which carries a purse of $1,200, memorializes the scholarship and teaching of Monsignor Ellis (1905-1992). Its purpose is to assist a graduate student working on some aspect of the history of the Catholic Church. The thirteenth annual award was given to Kate E. Bush at the Association’s 91st meeting for her dissertation “Sorelle mie : the Sermons of Caterina Vigri and Franciscan Observant Reform.”

Eligibility: Those wishing to enter the competition for the award must be citizens or authorized residents (i.e., permanent residents or on student visas) of the United States or Canada, and must be enrolled in a doctoral program at a recognized institution of higher education.

Procedures: Applicants must submit the following materials:

1. three copies of a statement from the chairman (or director of graduate studies) of  the applicant’s department certifying that he or she has completed all the degree requirements for the doctorate except for the dissertation, and has received departmental approval to undertake work on a dissertation topic dealing with some aspect of the history of the Catholic Church;
2. three copies of a statement written by the applicant, not exceeding 1,000 words in length, describing the dissertation project and the way in which the award would be used to further its completion;
3. two sealed letters of recommendation from scholars familiar with the applicant’s work, one of whom must be his or her dissertation director.

Individual copies of the application packet must be sent by SEPTEMBER 30, 2011, to the committee at the three addresses listed below:

This year the judges are:

• Professor Lezlie Knox (chair), Department of History, Coughlin Hall 314, P>O> Box 1881, Marquette University, Milwaukee Wisconsin 53233 lezlie.knox@marquette.edu
  
• Professor Richard Janet, Department of History, Rockhurst University, 1100 Rockhurst Road, Kansas City Missouri, 64110-2561. rick.janet@rockhurst.edu
  
• Professor Anne Klejment, Department of History, University of St. Thomas,  2115 Summit Avenue, Mail # JRC432 St. Paul, Minnesota  55195-1096. amklejment@stthomas.edu