John Winthrop Award

This prize will be awarded annually for the best work dealing with the history and cultures of the peoples who shaped the region now known as New England in times leading up to and including the seventeenth century. All nonfiction historical works published over the preceding year that focus on the history and cultures of the peoples of New England are eligible.  Broader works which make an important contribution to New England history, and biographies that address the life of someone closely connected with the region are also eligible. Works must represent original exemplary scholarship and be written in a clear and engaging style. Monographs and edited collections are eligible. Books for children’s and young adult audiences, textbooks, genealogies, and books that are primarily journalism will not be considered. Self-published works and re-publications are not eligible. The volume should have an appeal to the general reader.

The recipient of the prize will receive $2,500 and a small bust of John Winthrop by the sculptor Robert Shure.

A committee of eminent historians will review the essays. Their decision in all cases will be final.

For information on how to submit works for consideration contact Dr. Francis J. Bremer ([email protected]).

Previous Awards

2023 Kirsten Silva Gruesz, Cotton Mather's Spanish Lessons: A Story of Language, Race, and Belonging in the Early Americas (2022)

2021 Jean M. O'Brien and Lisa Blee, Monumental Mobility: The Memory Work of Massasoit (2020)