Call for Submissions: The Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Book Prize
Bard Graduate Center welcomes submissions for the Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Book Prize, awarded annually to the best book on the decorative arts, design history, or material culture of the Americas. The prize rewards scholarly excellence and commitment to cross-disciplinary conversation. The winning author(s) or editor(s) will be chosen by a committee of Bard Graduate Center faculty and will be honored with a research event exploring new directions, critical applications, and intersections of the book’s argument.
Submission Guidelines
Eligible titles can be published in any language, and in print or in digital format. Submissions must have a 2025 publication date, and should predominantly focus on the Americas. Submissions must also reflect original research—reissues (later editions, digital reissue of a print publication) are discouraged.
Three copies of each print title and an entry submission form should be sent to the below address. For digital publications, please email a copy of the submission form, a PDF of the publication, and a link to the publication to [email protected].
Horowitz Book Prize Committee
Bard Graduate Center
38 West 86th Street
New York, NY 10024
Submissions must be postmarked by April 15, 2026. There is no limit on the number of submissions, but please note we are unable to return items submitted for review. Incomplete submissions will not be considered. Shipping is the responsibility of the applicant; we are not able to confirm receipt of submissions. The winning title will be announced in October 2026.
For questions, contact [email protected].
The entry submission form can be downloaded here.
Past Winners
2024
Seth Rockman, Plantation Goods: A Material History of Slavery (University of Chicago Press, 2024). Learn more here.2023
Lisa Gail Collins, Stitching Love and Loss: A Gee’s Bend Quilt (University of Washington Press, 2023). Learn more here.2022
Lisa Trever, Image Encounters: Moche Murals and Archaeo Art History (University of Texas Press, 2022). Learn more here.2021
Beverly Lemire, Laura Peers, Anne Whitelaw, Object Lives and Global Histories in Northern North America: Material Culture in Motion, c.1780–1980 (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2021). Learn more here.2019/20
Bess Williamson, Accessible America: A History of Disability and Design (New York University Press, 2019). Learn more here.2018
Cheryl Finley, Committed to Memory: The Art of the Slave Ship Icon (Princeton University Press, 2018).