Prizes | RHS

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 Annual Prizes, 2022: submissions now invited

Submissions from Early Career Historians, publishers and teaching colleagues are now invited for the Society’s 2022 Awards, to be announced in July 2022. The first round of submissions covers the Society’s four Publication Prizes, with a submission deadline of 31 December 2021. Deadlines for submissions for research and teaching prizes fall in 2022.

RHS prizes and awards are announced at a ceremony which takes place annually in July. The most recent award winners were announced at an online ceremony on 23 July 2021.

Prize categories for which submissions are now invited for the 2022 awards

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 An annual Prize of £250 for the best published or unpublished essay addressing an aspect of Scottish history.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.
Gladstone Book 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.
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.
The Jinty Nelson Award for Inspirational Teaching and Supervision in History. An annual award of £1,000 usually to an individual historian. Deadline for nominations: 30 April 2022.
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. Deadline for nominations: 30 April 2022.
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.

Submissions for the 2022 Prize round are now open, and should be made via the RHS Applications Portal.

Other Prizes run by the Royal Historical Society

RHS Public History Prize. Recognises work that promotes public understanding of history and communicates a critical understanding of the past. Offered in partnership with the Historical Association and the Institute of Historical Research’s Public History Seminar, the Prize celebrates work in Museums & Exhibitions, Film & TV, Radio & Podcasts, Online Resources, Public Debate & Policy, as well as work undertaken by students. This prize is currently on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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. Further details for 2022 tbc
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. Further details for 2022 tbc.