The Immigration and Ethnic History Society awards a prize to recognize the work of early career scholars in the field of U.S. immigration and ethnic history. The First Book Award is a $2,000 award presented annually at the IEHS banquet during the OAH for the book  judged best on any aspect of the immigration and ethnic history of the United States and/or North America.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the award, a book must be copyrighted 2023, must be based on substantial primary research, must present a major new scholarly interpretation, and must be an author’s first academic monograph. Edited collections or multi-authored books are not eligible.

The $2,000 award will be presented at the annual IEHS banquet in 2024.

A book may be nominated by its author, the publisher, a member of the prize committee, or a member of the Society.

Inquiries and nominations should be submitted to firstbookaward@iehs.org, which will reach all committee members.

Committee Members

Ashley Johnson-Bavery (Chair), Carl Lindskoog, Mike Amezcua

A hard copy of the book will be submitted to each committee member at the following addresses by the deadline: December 31, 2023.

Dr. Ashley Johnson-Bavery
Department of History & Philosophy
701 Pray Harrold Hall
Ypsilanti, MI 48197

Dr. Carl Lindskoog
Raritan Valley Community College
Department of Humanities Social Science Social Work and Education
Somerset Hall, S-336
118 Lamington Rd.
Branchburg, NJ 08876

Dr. Mike Amezcua
Georgetown University
Department of History
ICC 600
3700 O Street, NW
Washington DC

Previous Recipients

2023
2023 – Honorable Mention

Kristina Shull

2022

Jessica Ordaz

2021

Ashley Johnson Bavery

Bootlegged Aliens: Immigration Politics on America’s Northern Border  

(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021)

2020

Danielle Battisti

2019

Rosina Lozano

An American Language: The History of Spanish in the United States (University of California Press, 2018)

Honorable Mention

Daniel Inouye, Distant Islands: The Japanese American Community in New York City, 1876-1930s. (University Press of Colorado, 2018)

2018
2017
2016
2015