John Winthrop Prize

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 Mary Blunt ([email protected])

2026 John Winthrop Prize

The Colonial Society of Massachusetts is delighted to award its 2026 John Winthrop Prize, for the best book on the 17th-century, to Mary Eyring's Saltwater:  Grief in Early America (Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, University of North Carolina Press, 2025). 

In recognizing Saltwater, our committee said,  "Mary Eyring's moving exploration of grief is marked by originality of approach, methodological sophistication, and compelling writing. The author’s choice of subjects—from the loss of homes to early modern understandings of disability—is both surprising and highly creative. A cross-disciplinary approach and grasp of theological nuance allow her to powerfully evoke, without trivializing, the texture of ordinary people's sadness. Eyring's Saltwater significantly deepens our knowledge of the peoples and cultures of early New England."

Mary Eyring is an associate professor of English and American Studies at Brigham Young University.. 

The John Winthrop Prize was created by our long-time Member John Winthrop (a descendant of Massachusetts' first governor) to recognize the best book on the 17th-century.  We are delighted that Professor Eyring's book has received the award. 

Previous Prizes

2024 Adrian Chastain Weimer for A Constitutional Culture: New England and the Struggle Against Arbitrary Rule in the Restoration Empire (2023)

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)