News

May 22, 2017, NEW YORK, N.Y.—Three prizes honoring historical writing of exceptional literary merit are awarded by the Society of American Historians (SAH) at Columbia University today at its annual dinner at The Century Association in New York City. The Society, founded in 1939 by Allan Nevins, an American journalist and historian, encourages and promotes literary distinction in the writing and presentation of American history.

The Society congratulates past SAH president Mary Beth Norton on her new position as president-elect of the American Historical Association. She will become AHA president in 2018.

Three prizes honoring historical writing of exceptional literary merit are awarded by the Society of American Historians at Columbia University today at its annual dinner at The Century Association in New York City. The Society, founded in 1939 by Allan Nevins, an American journalist and historian, encourages and promotes literary distinction in the writing and presentation of American history. The Society’s members consist of scholars, journalists, documentarians, filmmakers, essayists, novelists, biographers and poets, by invitation only.

Submissions are now being accepted for the 2016 Francis Parkman and Allan Nevins prize competitions. See "How to Submit," under the "Prizes" tab, for details.

Read at Ene's memorial service at Faculty House.

The Society of American Historians does not normally make note of the death of members.  The most fitting tribute for a writer is the words and books he or she leaves to posterity.

But the officers of the Society have asked that I share a few words on Ene Sirvet, who died last month.  For nearly fifty years Ene served as the secretary for the Society. 

Read them here.

At its annual dinner in New York on May 11, the Society of American Historians honored historical writing of exceptional literary merit.

The 8th annual Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. Award for distinguished writing in American history of enduring public significance, given jointly with the Roosevelt Institute, was presented to David Levering Lewis.

At the close of the annual dinner on May 11, David Nasaw was succeeded as the Society's president by Jill Lepore, the David Woods Kemper ’41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and a staff writer at The New Yorker. The author and journalist Tony Horwitz assumed the vice presidency.

Elected to the executive board were George Chauncey, Ann Fabian, Annette Gordon-Reed, Jane Kamensky, Fredrik Logevall, and Tiya Miles.

The Society notes with sadness the death on April 22 of Ene Sirvet, who retired in 2013 after 43 years of cheerful and devoted service as our administrative secretary. A memorial gathering  will be held on Wednesday, May 27, 2015, from 3 to 5 pm at the Columbia University Faculty House, 400 West 117th Street, New York, New York.

The 2015 winners of the Arthur M. Schlesinger Award, the Francis Parkman Prize, the James Fenimore Cooper Prize, and the Allan Nevins Prize will be announced at the Society's annual dinner on May 11. Check back later!