The Midwest Victorian Studies Association (MVSA) is pleased to announce an annual prize awarded for a first book by a Midwestern specialist in Victorian studies. Eligibility includes receipt of a terminal degree no more than ten years prior to publication of the first book; membership in MVSA; and current residence in one of these Midwestern states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Wisconsin. For the inaugural prize, MVSA welcomes submission of first books published in either 2005 or 2006. Book-length studies on Victorian/imperial Britain in the fields of art history, dance, history, literature, music, philosophy, popular culture/cultural studies, religion, and rhetoric will be considered; interdisciplinary approaches are particularly welcome. The prize recipient will receive $500 and a plaque at the 2008 MVSA conference, which will convene at the Essex Hotel in Chicago, IL, April 18-20.
Scholars wishing to be considered for the prize should arrange for three copies of their 2005 or 2006 books to be sent to the First-Book Prize committee members (one copy each):