Competitions for MLA Publication Awards
Anyone may nominate a book for an MLA prize, but the author or publisher is responsible for sending the required number of print and electronic copies, noted in the main list, before the deadline. Each item in the main list indicates, under the heading Eligibility, whether membership in the MLA is required. An author who is not a member of the MLA at the time of publication may become eligible to compete by joining the association before the deadline for the prize for which they are competing. Please note that titles published by the MLA are not eligible for MLA-sponsored awards.
Unless otherwise noted, “literary studies” here encompasses works of literary history, literary criticism, philology, and literary theory, as well as works dealing with literature and other arts and disciplines. Translations are eligible only for the three awards specifically devoted to that category.
For detailed announcements and submission forms for these awards, click on the prize name below. Write to awards@mla.org with any questions.
Annual Prizes with Competitions in 2024
- William Riley Parker Prize
Definition: For an outstanding article in PMLA.
Eligibility : Articles published in the October 2023, January 2024, March 2024, and May 2024 issues of PMLA. Commissioned articles and special features are not eligible for this award. Authors must be current members of the MLA. - James Russell Lowell Prize
Deadline: 1 March 2024.
Definition: For an outstanding literary or linguistic study or a critical biography. Open to studies dealing with literary theory, media, cultural history, or interdisciplinary topics.
Eligibility: Books published in 2023; authors must be current members of the MLA.
Copies required: Five print copies and electronic access. - MLA Prize for a First Book
Deadline: 1 March 2024.
Definition: Same as for James Russell Lowell Prize.
Eligibility: Book must have been published in 2023 as the first book-length publication of a current member of the MLA.
Copies required: Five print copies and electronic access. - Katherine Singer Kovacs Prize
Deadline: 1 May 2024.
Definition: For an outstanding book published in English or Spanish in the field of Latin American and Spanish literatures and cultures. Competing books should be broadly interpretive works that enhance understanding of the interrelations among literature, the other arts, and society.
Eligibility: Books published in 2023; authors need not be members of the MLA.
Copies required: Six print copies and electronic access.
This prize has been endowed by Joseph and Mimi B. Singer. - Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for Comparative Literary Studies
Deadline: 1 May 2024.
Definition: For an outstanding scholarly work in comparative literary studies involving at least two literatures.
Eligibility: Books published in 2023; authors must be current members of the MLA.
Copies required: Four print copies and electronic access.
This prize has been endowed by the Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Endowment Fund. - Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for French and Francophone Studies
Deadline: 1 May 2024.
Definition: For an outstanding scholarly work in French or francophone linguistic or literary studies.
Eligibility: Books published in 2023; authors must be current members of the MLA.
Copies required: Four print copies and electronic access.
This prize has been endowed by the Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Endowment Fund. - Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Publication Award for a Manuscript in Italian Literary Studies
Deadline: 1 July 2024.
Definition: For an outstanding manuscript dealing with any aspect of the languages and literatures of Italy.
Eligibility: Manuscripts approved or ready for publication before award deadline; authors must be current members of the MLA residing in the United States or Canada.
Copies required: Four print copies and electronic access, plus contact and biographical information.
This prize has been endowed by the Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Endowment Fund. - Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for a Translation of a Literary Work
Deadline: 1 April 2024.
Definition: For an outstanding translation into English of a book-length literary work.
Eligibility: Translations published in 2023; translators need not be members of the MLA.
Copies required: Six print copies and electronic access, plus 12–15 pages of text in original language.
This prize has been endowed by the Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Endowment Fund.
Note: Works for this prize will also be automatically considered for the Lois Roth Award for a Translation of a Literary Work. Definitions and criteria are the same for both awards. Separate submissions are not required. - Lois Roth Award
Deadline: 1 April 2024.
Definition: For an outstanding translation into English of a book-length literary work.
Eligibility: Translations published in 2023; translators need not be members of the MLA.
Copies required: Six print copies and electronic access, plus 12–15 pages of text in original language.
This prize has been endowed by the Lois Roth Endowment.
Note: Works submitted for this prize will also automatically be considered for the Scaglione Prize for a Translation of a Literary Work. Definitions and criteria are the same for both awards. Separate submissions are not required. - William Sanders Scarborough Prize
Deadline: 1 May 2024.
Definition: For an outstanding scholarly study of black American literature or culture.
Eligibility: Books published in 2023; authors need not be members of the MLA.
Copies required: Four print copies and electronic access. - Matei Calinescu Prize
Deadline: 1 April 2024.
Definition: For a distinguished work of scholarship in twentieth- or twenty-first-century literature and thought. Preference will be given to a first or second work published by a nominee.
Eligibility: Books published in 2023; authors need not be members of the MLA.
Copies required: Six print copies and electronic access.
This prize has been endowed by a donor who wishes to remain anonymous. - Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for African Studies
Deadline: 1 May 2024.
Definition: For an outstanding scholarly work in African or African diaspora literary or linguistic studies.
Eligibility: Books published in 2023; authors need not be members of the MLA.
Copies required: Four print copies and electronic access.
This prize has been endowed by the Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Endowment Fund. - Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for East Asian Studies
Deadline: 1 May 2024.
Definition: For an outstanding scholarly work in East Asian or East Asian diaspora literary or linguistic studies.
Eligibility: Books published in 2023; authors need not be members of the MLA.
Copies required: Four print copies and electronic access.
This prize has been endowed by the Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Endowment Fund. - Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for Middle Eastern Studies
Deadline: 1 May 2024.
Definition: For an outstanding scholarly work in Middle Eastern or Middle Eastern diaspora literary or linguistic studies.
Eligibility: Books published in 2023; authors need not be members of the MLA.
Copies required: Four print copies and electronic access.
This prize has been endowed by the Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Endowment Fund. - Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for South Asian Studies
Deadline: 1 May 2024.
Definition: For an outstanding scholarly work in South Asian or South Asian diaspora literary or linguistic studies.
Eligibility: Books published in 2023; authors need not be members of the MLA.
Copies required: Four print copies and electronic access.
This prize has been endowed by the Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Endowment Fund.
Biennial Prizes with Competitions in 2024
- Howard R. Marraro Prize
Deadline: 1 May 2024.
Definition: For an outstanding scholarly work on any phase of Italian literature or comparative literature involving Italian.
Eligibility: Books published in 2023; authors must be members of the MLA.
Copies required: Four print copies and electronic access.
This prize has been endowed by Howard R. Marraro. - Mina P. Shaughnessy Prize
Deadline: 1 May 2024.
Definition: For a work in the fields of language, culture, literacy, or literature with strong application to the teaching of English.
Eligibility: Books published in 2022 or 2023; authors need not be members of the MLA.
Copies required: Four print copies and electronic access. - Morton N. Cohen Award for a Distinguished Edition of Letters
Deadline: 1 May 2024.
Definition: For an outstanding edition of letters. Editions may be in single or multiple volumes.
Eligibility: At least one volume must have been published in 2021, 2022, or 2023; editors need not be members of the MLA.
Copies required: Four print copies and electronic access.
This prize has been endowed by Morton N. Cohen. - MLA Prize for Contingent Faculty and Independent Scholars
Deadline: 1 May 2024.
Definition: For a scholarly book in the field of English or other modern languages and literatures.
Eligibility: Books published in 2022 or 2023. At the time of research or publication of the book, author must not be enrolled in a program leading to an academic degree or hold a tenured, tenure-accruing, or tenure-track position in postsecondary education. Authors need not be members of the MLA.
Copies required: Six print copies and electronic access, plus a completed entry form. - Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for Studies in Germanic Languages and Literatures
Deadline: 1 May 2024.
Definition: For an outstanding scholarly work on the linguistics or literatures of any of the Germanic languages (Danish, Dutch, German, Norwegian, Swedish, Yiddish).
Eligibility: Books published in 2022 or 2023; authors must be members of the MLA.
Copies required: Four print copies and electronic access.
This prize has been endowed by the Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Endowment Fund. - MLA Prize for Bibliographical or Archival Scholarship
Deadline: 1 May 2024.
Definition: For an outstanding enumerative or descriptive bibliography, archive, or digital project.
Eligibility: At least one volume must have been published in 2022 or 2023. Editors need not be members of the MLA.
Copies required: Four print copies and electronic access. - Fenia and Yaakov Leviant Memorial Prize in Yiddish Studies
Deadline: 1 May 2024.
Definition: For an outstanding scholarly work in the field of Yiddish.
Eligibility: Books published between 2020 and 2023; authors need not be members of the MLA.
Copies required: Four print copies and electronic access.
This prize has been endowed by the family of Fenia and Yaakov Leviant.
Note: This prize will be awarded alternately to an outstanding translation or an outstanding scholarly work in the field of Yiddish. For 2026, the prize will be awarded to an outstanding English translation of a Yiddish literary work published between 2022 and 2025. - MLA Prize for Studies in Native American Literatures, Cultures, and Languages
Deadline: 1 May 2024.
Definition: For an outstanding scholarly work in the field of Native American literatures, cultures, and languages.
Eligibility: Books published in 2022 or 2023; authors must be current members of the MLA.
Copies required: Four print copies and electronic access.
Biennial Prizes with Competitions in 2025
- Kenneth W. Mildenberger Prize
Deadline: 1 May 2025.
Definition: For a work in the fields of language, culture, literacy, or literature with strong application to the teaching of languages other than English.
Eligibility: Books published in 2023 or 2024; authors need not be members of the MLA.
Copies required: Four print copies and electronic access. - MLA Prize for a Scholarly Edition
Deadline: 1 May 2025.
Definition: For an outstanding scholarly edition. Editions may be in single or multiple volumes.
Eligibility: At least one volume must have been published in 2023 or 2024; editors need not be members of the MLA.
Copies required: Four print copies and electronic access. - Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for a Translation of a Scholarly Study of Literature
Deadline: 1 May 2025.
Definition: For an outstanding translation into English of a book-length work of literary history, literary criticism, philology, or literary theory.
Eligibility: Books published in 2023 or 2024; translators need not be members of the MLA.
Copies required: Four print copies and electronic access.
This prize has been endowed by the Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Endowment Fund. - Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for Studies in Slavic Languages and Literatures
Deadline: 1 May 2025.
Definition: For an outstanding scholarly work on the linguistics or literatures of the Slavic languages.
Eligibility: Books published in 2023 or 2024; authors need not be members of the MLA.
Copies required: Four print copies and electronic access.
This prize has been endowed by the Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Endowment Fund. - Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for Italian Studies
Deadline: 1 May 2025.
Definition: For an outstanding scholarly work on any phase of Italian literature or culture or comparative literature involving Italian.
Eligibility: Books must be published in 2024; authors must be members of the MLA.
Copies required: Four print copies and electronic access.
This prize has been endowed by the Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Endowment Fund. - MLA Prize in United States Latina and Latino and Chicana and Chicano Literary and Cultural Studies
Deadline: 1 May 2025.
Definition: For an outstanding scholarly study in any language of United States Latina and Latino or Chicana and Chicano literature or culture.
Eligibility: Books published in 2023 or 2024; authors must be current members of the MLA.
Copies required: Four print copies and electronic access. - MLA Prize for an Edited Collection
Deadline: 1 May 2025.
Definition: For an outstanding edited collection in the field of English or other modern languages and literatures.
Eligibility: Books published in 2023 or 2024; editors must be current members of the MLA, but contributors need not be.
Copies required: Four print copies and electronic access.