The Sharon Stephens Prize is awarded biennially for a junior scholar’s first book. The prize goes to a work that speaks to contemporary social issues with relevance beyond the discipline and beyond the academy.

Ethnographies – single-authored or multi-authored but not edited collections – are eligible. The book should be a first monograph by a junior scholar, and may not have been previously submitted for this prize. Books eligible for the Sharon Stephens competition should carry a copyright date of 2023 or 2024, without exception.

The jury for the 2025 prize is chaired by AES councilor Doreen Lee, with jury members Eleana Kim and Daniel Reichman.

Letters of nomination must come from scholars; self-nominations and nominations from presses are not invited. Nominator letters are due on the AES website by April 15, 2025. See below for book submission information.

Criteria may include: originality, rigor, and impact of research; an innovative approach to ethnography; theoretical sophistication and depth; original contributions to longstanding anthropological debates; and an enduring contribution to Anthropology and beyond.

Announcements regarding the deadlines and other updates will be posted on this website and on other email based and social media platforms. Decisions will be announced in the AES Newsletter and social media channels, with the awards given in person at the 2025 AAA annual meeting in New Orleans.

Nominators should arrange for the author to send physical copies of their book to each juror by May 1, 2025, at the following addresses:

Doreen Lee
215J Renaissance Park
1135 Tremont St.
Northeastern University
Boston, MA 02115

Eleana Kim
Department of Anthropology
3332 Social & Behavioral Sciences Gateway
University of California-Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697-5100

Daniel Reichman
University of Rochester
Department of Anthropology
440 Lattimore Hall
Box 270161
Rochester, New York 14627-0161

Please contact Doreen Lee (do.lee@northeastern.edu) if you have any questions regarding the submission process.

Doreen Lee (Chair)
Eleana Kim
Daniel Reichman

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