Victorian Periodicals Review

The Colby Scholarly Book Prize

The Robert and Vineta Colby Scholarly Book Prize is an annual prize awarded to a book published during the preceding year that most advances our understanding of the nineteenth-century British press. The winner receives a monetary award of up to $2,000 and is invited to speak at the RSVP conference. Books published in calendar year 2020 are eligible to be nominated until January 31, 2021. Nominations may be submitted by publishers’ representatives or by the reading public through RSVP’s application portal (https://rs4vp.fluidreview.com/). Authors may not submit their own book for consideration. For more information and a list of past awardees, visit: http://rs4vp.org/awards/colby-prize.

Announcing the Sally Mitchell Dissertation Prize

The Sally Mitchell Dissertation Prize will recognize the best PhD dissertation defended in 2020 that explores the nineteenth-century British periodical press (including magazines, newspapers, and serial publications of all kinds) as an object of study in its own right and not only as a source of material for other historical topics. We welcome projects from a range of disciplinary perspectives focused on any aspect of the periodical press within Britain itself or in the many countries, within and outside of the empire, where British magazines and newspapers were bought, sold, and read during the long nineteenth century (ca. 1780–1914). [End Page 648]

The winner will receive a monetary award of $1,000. Applicants should submit the following in a single PDF file via RSVP’s application portal (https://rs4vp.fluidreview.com): a cover letter with full contact information; a title page, abstract, and table of contents; and a sample chapter (do not submit the full dissertation with these materials). Applicants must also provide the name and email address of their dissertation advisor, who will be asked to confirm the successful viva/defense date. After reviewing these materials, the prize committee will solicit full dissertations for further consideration.

Applications are due by March 1, 2021. Notification of acceptance begins February 1, 2021, and the Mitchell Prize winner will be announced in July or August 2021. Questions about this dissertation prize may be directed to the president of RSVP at president@rs4vp.com.

VanArsdel Prize

The VanArsdel Prize is awarded annually to the best graduate student essay investigating Victorian periodicals and newspapers. The deadline for the next award competition is June 1, 2021. The winner will receive $500 and publication in the spring 2022 issue of Victorian Periodicals Review. For more information, visit http://rs4vp.org/vanarsdel-prize. [End Page 649]