The Royal Historical Society awards a number of prizes each year to recognise outstanding historical scholarship and achievement. The awards celebrate exceptional monograph and article publishing, graduate research and teaching. A full listing all RHS prizes and current deadlines is available below.
RHS prizes and awards are announced at a ceremony which takes place annually in July.
RHS Awards: the ceremony: 5pm, Friday 23 July 2021
Many thanks to all those who took part in this year’s awards, and especially to our winners, runners-up and those shortlisted for their contributions to History in 2020-21. Watch the video to find out who’s won this year.
2021 Winners & Runners-Up: in full
RHS Annual Prizes, 2022
- Rees Davies Prize. An annual Prize of £250 for an outstanding Master’s dissertation submitted by a UK institution of Higher Education. Winners may be invited to submit an article based on the dissertation to be considered for publication in Transactions of the RHS. Deadline for nominations: 31 January 2022.
- Gladstone Prize. An annual Prize of £1,000 for a work of history on a topic not primarily related to British history that is the author’s first sole book publication. Deadline for nominations: 31 December 2021.
- Whitfield Book Prize. An annual Prize of £1,000 for a work on British or Irish history that is the author’s first sole book publication. Deadline for nominations: 31 December 2021.
- Alexander Prize. An annual Prize of £250 for an essay or article based on original historical research, by a doctoral candidate or those recently awarded their doctorate, published in a journal or an edited collection of essays. Deadline for nominations: 31 December 2021.
- David Berry Prize. An annual Prize of £250 for the best published or unpublished essay addressing an aspect of Scottish history. Deadline for nominations: 31 December 2021.
- The Jinty Nelson Award for Inspirational Teaching and Supervision in History. An annual award of £1,000 usually to an individual historian.
- The Royal Historical Society Innovation in Teaching Award. An annual award of £1,000, either to an individual or to a group of historians working in collaboration.
- The Royal Historical Society History Today Prize. Jointly sponsored with History Today, for the best undergraduate final-year dissertation. Prize of £250 and consideration for publication in a future issue of the magazine.
- The Royal Historical Society History Scotland Prize. Jointly sponsored by the Society and History Scotland, for an undergraduate dissertation on any aspect of Scottish history. Prize of £250 and consideration for publication in a future issue of the magazine.
