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.

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
  • 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 published in 2024.
Announcement of the awards will be made in spring of the prize year.

Print copies

Works submitted for the competition should be sent to the following address:

Attention: Bancroft Prize Committee, Columbia University
c/o The Office of the University Librarian
517 Butler Library, Mail Code 1101
535 West 114th St.
New York, NY 10027

Please provide four (4) copies of each text—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, 2024. However, page-proof copy may be submitted after November 1, provided the work will be published after the date and before December 31, 2024. (Page-proof copy will not be accepted for any work that will have a publication date earlier than November 1.)

PDF copy

In addition to four hard copies, for all works submitted, a PDF copy of the manuscript is also required.

Please send a PDF copy 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
  • Year of publication
  • 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.

Sign up to recieve occasional emails about the Bancroft Prizes, including an invitation to the annual program.

The Bancroft Prizes: Current & Previous Awards

Please contact bancroft-prize@library.columbia.edu with questions.