Book Prizes
The Philosophical Society of Texas presents three literary prizes annually, each with a $2,500 prize: one for a work of fiction, one for a nonfiction book, and one for a volume of poetry. The winning authors are invited to attend the Annual Meeting to receive the awards and sign books. Judges may withhold the awards at their discretion.
The deadline for submissions for the Society's 2024 Book Prizes (for books published in 2023) is August 30, 2024. Submission guidlines are here. Please contact Society staff with questions.
Nonfiction Prize Winners
|
Publication Date |
Title |
Author |
Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
|
2023 |
Winner - Unsettled Land: From Revolution to Republic, the Struggle for Texas |
Sam W. Haynes |
Basic Books |
|
2023 |
Honorable Mention - Brackenridge: San Antonio’s Acclaimed Urban Park |
Lewis F. Fisher |
Trinity University Press |
|
2022 |
Winner - Inside the Texas Revolution: The Enigmatic Memoir of Herman Ehrenberg |
James E. Crisp |
Texas State Historical Association |
|
2022 |
Honorable Mention - With the Bark Off: A Journalist's Memories of LBJ and a Life in the News Media |
Neal Spelce with Thomas Zigal |
University of Chicago Press |
|
2021 |
Winner - The People's Revolt: Texas Populists and the Roots of American Liberalism |
Gregg Cantrell |
Yale University Press |
|
2021 |
Honorable Mention - George T. Ruby: Champion of Equal Rights in Reconstruction Texas |
Carl H. Moneyhon |
Texas Christian University Press |
Fiction Prize Winners
| Publication Date | Title | Author | Publisher |
| 2023 | Winner - The Leopard is Loose | Stephen Harrigan | Knopf |
| 2023 | Honorable Mention - More Than You’ll Ever Know | Katie Gutierrez | William Morrow |
| 2023 | Honorable Mention - Nobody's Pilgrims | Sergio Troncoso | Lee & Low Books: Cinco Puntos Press |
| 2022 | Winner - The Song Leader | Jan Reid | Texas Christian University Press |
| 2021 | Winner - Simon the Fiddler | Paulette Jiles | William Morrow |
| 2021 | Honorable Mention - The End of October | Lawrence G. Wright | Knopf |
| 2021 | Honorable Mention - Valentine | Elizabeth Wetmore | Harper |
| 2020 | Winner - Dragonfly | Leila Meacham | Grand Central Publishing |
Poetry Prize Winners
| Publication Date | Title | Author | Publisher |
| 2023 | Winner - Anchor | Rebecca Aronson | Orison Books |
| 2022 | Winner - Speaking with Grackles by Soapberry Trees | César Leonardo de Leon | Flowersong Press |
| 2022 | Honorable Mention - Welcome to Midland | Logen Cure | Deep Vellum Publishing |
| 2021 | Winner - Improvisation Without Accompaniment | Matt Morton | BOA Editions |
| 2021 | Honorable Mention - Maps of Injury | Chera Hammons | Sundress Publlications |
| 2020 | Winner - JazzHouse | Eduard Vidaurre | Prickly Pear Publishing |
| 2018 | Winner - Girldom | Megan Peak | Perugia Press |
| 2016 | Winner - Barbarossa | Jonathon Fink | Dzanc Books |
| 2015 | Winner - New and Selcted Poems | James Hoggard | Texas Christian University Press |
| 2014 (Inaugural Prize) | Winner - Once in the West | Christian Wiman | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |