[American Council of Learned Societies](https://www.acls.org)

February 27, 2026

$20,000 cash prize to author + $30,000 publishing award to publisher (per category winner)

Recognizes outstanding peer-reviewed, open access monographs in the humanities and interpretative social sciences across six categories.

Publishers must submit entries; only books published 2019–2024 in English are eligible.

--- ## Description The ACLS Open Book Prize + Arcadia Open Access Publishing Award celebrates exemplary open access monographs in the humanities and interpretative social sciences. Funded by Arcadia and administered by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), the competition honors books that demonstrate scholarly excellence, impact, and innovation in publishing. Awards are given across six categories: Anthropology, Environmental Humanities, History, Literary/Media Studies, Multimodal works in any humanistic discipline, and Political Science. The program especially values accessibility, inclusive design, and creative use of digital media. --- ## Due Dates - February 27, 2026: Final submission deadline for the 2026 competition --- ## Funding Amount - Each category winner receives: - $20,000 cash prize to the author(s) - $30,000 Arcadia Open Access Publishing Award to the publisher (to support future open access titles) - Awards are presented in October 2026 during International Open Access Week. --- ## Eligibility - **Eligible Works:** Peer-reviewed, open access monographs in the humanities or interpretative social sciences. - Monographs must be long-form scholarly arguments on a single subject. - Edited collections, anthologies, critical editions, textbooks, and creative works are **not** eligible. - **Publication Dates:** Books must be published in English with copyright dates from 2019 through 2024. - English translations are eligible if the original was published 2019–2024. - **Open Access Requirements:** - Must be freely available digitally, without digital rights management, on at least two platforms. - Open access edition must be published within one year of any paid print/e-book edition. - **Categories:** Anthropology, Environmental Humanities, History, Literary/Media Studies, Multimodal (any humanistic discipline), Political Science. - **Who May Submit:** Only publishers may submit entries (authors cannot apply independently). - Publishers/imprints may submit up to three titles per category (18 total). - The same title may be entered in multiple categories, but the per-category limit applies. - **Other Criteria:** - Publishers and authors may be based anywhere in the world. - Previous winning titles are ineligible; previous finalists may re-enter if otherwise eligible. - Consistently broken links to nominated titles will result in disqualification. --- ## Application Process - **Submission:** Publishers must complete and submit the official online entry form for each nominated title. - The form must be completed in one session; incomplete entries will be disqualified. - Authors must complete a separate Author Response Form and provide it to their publisher. - **Required Materials:** - Publisher and author information - Book details (title, copyright year, category, open access status, distribution URLs) - Responses on scholarly impact, accessibility, and (for multimodal works) preservation strategy - **Supporting Documents:** - [Sample Entry Form](https://www.acls.org/competitions/open-access-book-prizes/2026-oa-book-prizes_sample-entry-form/) - [Author Response Form](https://www.acls.org/competitions/open-access-book-prizes/2026-oa-book-prizes_author-response-form/) - **Submission Portal:** [Apply online](https://ofa.acls.org/nomination/openbook/) --- ## Additional Information - **Evaluation Criteria:** - Originality, intellectual contribution, and impact within/beyond academia - Demonstrated accessibility and inclusive design - Effective dissemination and marketing by the publisher - For multimodal works: innovative digital features, integration, and preservation - **Disqualification:** Exceeding submission limits or broken links to works will result in disqualification. - **Information Sessions:** ACLS offers information sessions about the submission process; see [program page](https://www.acls.org/competitions/open-access-book-prizes/) for details. --- ## External Links - [ACLS Open Access Book Prizes Program Page](https://www.acls.org/competitions/open-access-book-prizes/) - [Apply Online (Publisher Portal)](https://ofa.acls.org/nomination/openbook/) - [Sample Entry Form (PDF)](https://www.acls.org/competitions/open-access-book-prizes/2026-oa-book-prizes_sample-entry-form/) - [Author Response Form (DOCX)](https://www.acls.org/competitions/open-access-book-prizes/2026-oa-book-prizes_author-response-form/) --- ## Contact Information | Contact | Details | |-------------------|----------------------------------------------| | Email | OAbookprizes@acls.org | | Phone | 212-697-1505 | | General Inquiries | [ACLS Contact Page](https://www.acls.org/support/) | ---

ACLS Open Book Prize + Arcadia Open Access Publishing Award

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