The Bancroft Prizes are awarded annually by Columbia University in the City of New York. Under the terms of the will of the late Fredric Bancroft, provision is made for two annual prizes of equal rank to be awarded to the authors of distinguished works in either or both of the following categories: American History (including biography) and Diplomacy.

As reported by The New York Times, the 2026 prizes were awarded to two acclaimed works in the field of American history:

Vested Interests: Trusteeship and Native Dispossession in the United States
by Emilie Connolly
published by Princeton University Press (2025)

John Doe Chinaman: A Forgotten History of Chinese Life Under American Racial Law
by Beth Lew-Williams
published by the Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (2025)

The awards in a given year are for books with a copyright date in the previous year. Prior to submitting a nomination, please closely review the following eligibility requirements:

• The competition is open to all persons whether connected to Columbia University or not and whether citizens of the United States or any other county.
• Works must fall into either or both of the following categories: American History (including biography) and Diplomacy. The word "American" is interpreted to include all the Americas, North, Central, and South; however, the award is confined to works originally written in English or of which there is a published translation in English.
• Previous winners of the Bancroft Prize are eligible for an award in a later year.
• The following works are not considered to be eligible:
  • Volumes of papers, letters, and speeches of famous Americans, unless edited by the author
  • Paperback reprints of works first published prior to 2026
  • Books that have been submitted previously
  • Exclusively digital books (books must exist in a physical form as well as PDF)
  • Books reporting on recent personal experiences of Americans, within a limited area both in time and geographically*
    *Autobiography comes within the terms of the prize

We are now accepting submissions for works first published in 2026. Physical works submitted for the competition should be sent to the following address:
*Please note that a PDF copy is also required. Review the guidelines below for details on how to submit your PDF.

Columbia Univ. Libraries
ATTN: Bancroft Prize Cmte.
535 W. 114th St.
Butler Library, Mail Code 1101
New York, NY 10027

It is requested that four (4) copies of each text be provided—three for the members of the jury on Award and one for the Libraries of Columbia University. The address should state that the books are for the Bancroft Prize Competition. A letter should accompany the books identifying the nominated books and a contact at the publisher.

The works will preferably be submitted as published, but in no case later than November 1, 2026. However, page-proof copy may be submitted after November 1, provided the work will be published after the date and before December 31, 2026. If your work is in this special category, please notify us of this via email before November 1. (Page-proof copy will not be accepted for any work that will have a publication date earlier than November 1.)

In addition to four hard copies, for all works submitted, a PDF copy is also requested.  Please see the following guidelines for PDF submission details:

To submit a nomination, send an email to:
bancroft-prize@library.columbia.edu

The subject line of the email should read:

• Bancroft Prize Nomination: [Author Last Name, Author First Name]

The body of the message should include all of the following details:

• Book Title
• Full names of all authors
• First year of publication – (it should be 2026 to be eligible)
• Name of publishing company
• Name, email address, and phone number of contact at publishing company

The PDF file should be named according to the example below:

[Author last name] – [Book title].pdf

for example:
Brooks – Our Beloved Kin.pdf

Please send the PDF as an attachment to your nomination email.

For questions about your submission, please send an inquiry to bancroft-prize@library.columbia.edu.

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The Bancroft Prizes: Current & Previous Awards