WCGS Book Prize Nominations & Eligibility

  

WCGS Book Pprize logo

The Waterloo Centre for German Studies promotes research into any and all aspects of the German-speaking world. As part of this mandate, the WCGS encourages the communication of research findings to both academics and the broader public. The Waterloo Centre for German Studies Book Prize has been established to recognize first-time authors whose scholarly work provides a substantial contribution to our understanding of any aspect of German-speaking society.

Below you will find details about the book prize as well as information regarding eligibility and the nomination process.

Prize

The Book Prize consists of two components:
 

  • Award: CAD $3,000. If the winning book is co- or multi-authored, the award will be split evenly among the authors.
  • Keynote Address: in cooperation with German Studies Canada (GSC), the awardee will present a keynote address about the winning book at the Association’s annual conference, normally held at the end of May in conjunction with the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. The winner’s transportation, accommodation, meals, and conference registration fees will be covered by the Waterloo Centre for German Studies, and it is expected that the winner will attend most if not all of the three-day conference. Acceptance of the prize is conditional upon agreeing to attend the conference and deliver a keynote address. (If the winning book is co- or multi-authored, one of those authors will be invited to make the presentation.)

Timeline

  • March 31, 2025: deadline for nominations
  • Early Fall 2025: announcement of the shortlist
  • Late Fall 2025: announcement of the winner
  • Spring 2026: the 2024 WCGS Book Prize winner presents a keynote address at the annual German Studies Canada conference 
     

Eligibility and Nomination Process

Eligibility

  • The first non-fiction scholarly monograph by an author will be considered. Co-authored books are eligible for this award (at least 50% of the authors must be first-time authors). Edited anthologies are not eligible.
  • Nominated books must have a copyright notice indicating 2024 as the copyright year.
  • Language of publication: The book must be either (1) primarily in English (published anywhere) or (2) primarily in French (published in Canada). Translations are permitted; the original work may have been published prior to the competition year, but it must still be the debut monograph of the scholar in question.

Judging Criteria

  • Books will be judged on the significance of their contribution to our understanding of any aspect of the German-speaking world. Significance will be measured in three areas:
    • Originality: the book’s originality in terms of presentation, scope, topic, etc.
    • Scholarly relevance: the book’s potential for influencing scholarly inquiry (in its own discipline or other disciplines).
    • Public scholarship: the book’s potential for contributing to broader public discourses.
    • Quality: the book is written in an incisive and clear manner, and edited to the highest standards.
  • The nominations will be adjudicated by a panel of German studies scholars chaired by the Director of the Waterloo Centre for German Studies and including one faculty member from the University of Waterloo, one member of German Studies Canada from outside the University of Waterloo, and up to two other academics.

Nomination Procedure

Please use the nomination form below to submit books to WCGS Book Prize.

Nomination deadline March 31.

Before you begin we have a few instructions:

  • You will only be able to use the form to submit ONE nomination at a time. This means for multiple nominations you will need to submit multiple forms.
  • Please have all required information for your nomination(s) before starting:
    • Author's full name, postal address, e-mail address, and phone number
    • Author's CV
    • Author website (if applicable)
    • Full book title
    • Publication details (publisher, year)
    • Publisher web page for the book (URL)
    • Publisher contact information (e.g. book or acquisition editor)
  • Once the nomination period closes WCGS will contact the relevant publishers to distribute the books to our jurors.
  • Books may be nominated by anyone, including the authors themselves, their publishers, or others. Authors who do not self-nominate will be contacted to ensure that they wish their book to be entered into the competition. 

Questions? Please reach out to the WCGS Administrative Assistant.

WCGS Book Prize Nomination Form

  1. Book and Author Information
  2. Complete
Provide the author's last name.
Provide the author's first name.
Please provide an email contact for the author.
Please add full title of nominated book.
Provide the name of the publishing company (e.g., Camden House).
Please provide the publisher web page for the book. If no such website exists, please provide a similar web page or leave blank.
Provide a contact for the publishing company (First and Last Name)
Please provide an email contact for the publisher
By checking this book you are confirming WCGS can use your contact information to coorodinate the distribution of the nominated book to our jurors. If an alternate contact is required, please provide it in the textbox below.
Please provide author mailing address including postal/zip code and country.
Please provide a telephone number for the author.
Please provide the author's university affiliation and title if applicable (e.g., Associate Professor of History at York University). If there is no university affiliation, please provide an alternate title (e.g., independt scholar).
Add author website if available.
By clicking this box you are confirming that this book meets our copyright eligibility for this year's prize. Nominated books must have a copyright notice that matches the prize year (e.g., in 2025 we will be looking for books published in 2024).
By clicking this checkbox you are confirming the author is aware of this nomination. If you do not check this box, WCGS will contact the author to let them know of the nomination.
Please provide a current CV for the author.
One file only.
100 MB limit.
Allowed types: pdf.