The Harold Holzer Lincoln Forum Book Prize

Presentation of the 2021 Book Award to James Oakes

The Lincoln Forum is now accepting submissions for its annual Harold Holzer Book Prize. This $1,000 prize was inaugurated in 2019 to honor outstanding scholarship on the life and career of our nation’s sixteenth president, or a distinguished book in which Lincoln is a central figure. In 2021, the prize was named in honor of Harold Holzer, co-founder and current chair of The Lincoln Forum.

Past Winners

2023 Edward Achorn, The Lincoln Miracle: Inside the Republican Convention That Changed History, with honorary awards to Sylvia Frank Rodrigue, Sara Gabbard, and Richard W. Etulain for their work with the Concise Lincoln Library

2022 Roger Lowenstein, Ways and Means: Lincoln and His Cabinet and the Financing of the Civil War

2021 James Oakes, The Crooked Path to Abolition: Abraham Lincoln and the Antislavery Constitution

2020 Ted Widmer, Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington

2019 Sidney Blumenthal, A Self-Made Man: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. 1

General Rules of Submissions

  1. Biographies, monographs, works of synthesis and interpretation, edited collections of original papers, and documentary editing projects, published in the English language, are eligible.

  2. Only books published during the period between March 2023 through May 2024 will be considered.

  3. One printed copy of each entry, along with a cover letter nominating the work for the award, must be sent to each committee member and clearly labeled “Lincoln Forum Harold Holzer Book Prize Entry,” no later than June 1, 2024. Entries will not be returned.

Names/Contact Information of Committee Members

Thomas A. Horrocks, Ph.D.
11A Brewer Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
thomasahorrocks@gmail.com

Michelle Krowl, Ph.D.
129 S. Park Drive
Arlington, VA 22204
mkrowl@aol.com

Christian McWhirter, Ph.D.
1324 Community Drive
Springfield, IL 62703
christianmcwhirter.ala@gmail.com

Daniel R. Weinberg
Abraham Lincoln Book Shop, Inc.
824 W. Superior Street, Suite 100
Chicago, IL 60642
lincolnian@aol.com

The winner of the Harold Holzer Lincoln Forum Book Prize will be announced by The Lincoln Forum at its annual symposium and via its website, and other social media and other news outlets. The winner will be invited to present a paper at the Forum symposium, with expenses paid that cover travel, hotel accommodations, and symposium registration.