Wayne S. Vucinich Book Prize

Established in 1983, the Wayne S. Vucinich Book Prize, sponsored by the Association for Slavic Studies, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) and the Stanford University Center for Russian and East European Studies, is awarded annually for the most important contribution to Russian, Eurasian, and East European studies in any discipline of the humanities or social sciences published in English in the United States in the previous calendar year. The Vucinich Book Prize carries a cash award and is presented at the Annual Convention.

2020 Vucinich Book Prize Winner

Eliot Borenstein, Plots against Russia: Conspiracy and Fantasy after Socialism (Cornell University Press)

Honorable Mention: Joan Neuberger, This Thing of Darkness: Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible in Stalin's Russia (Cornell University Press)

Rules of eligibility

Rules of eligibility for the Vucinich book prize competition are as follows:

    • The copyright date inside the book must list the previous calendar year as the date of publication (for example, the book must have been a copyright date of 2020 to be eligible for the 2021 competition).
    • The book must be a monograph, preferably by a single author, or by no more than two authors.
    • Works may deal with any area of Eastern Europe, Russia, or Eurasia.
    • The competition is open to works of scholarship in any discipline of the social sciences or humanities (including literature, the arts, film, etc.). Policy analyses, however scholarly, cannot be considered.
    • Authors may be of any nationality as long as the work is published in the United States and originally published in English.
    • Textbooks, collections, translations (including self-translations), bibliographies, and reference works are ineligible.
    • Self-published works are also ineligible.

Nominating Instructions

Fill out and submit this form to notify the Association of your intent to nominate a publication for Vucinich prize. As of 2020, books may only be nominated for two prizes (eg this prize and one other.)

Send one copy of eligible monograph to each Committee member (see addresses below). The nomination form must be submitted by no later than April 15. And books must be received by the prize committee members by May 15. (Books received after the deadline may not be considered.) Submissions should be clearly marked "Wayne S. Vucinich Book Prize Nomination."

Questions should be directed to Mary Arnstein (ASEEES Communications Coordinator) at newsnet@pitt.edu

2021 Wayne S. Vucinich Book Prize Committee

The winner of the Wayne S. Vucinich Book Prize will be chosen by the following scholars:

Thomas Seifrid, U of Southern California, 2020-2021, Chair
(mailing address):
Prof. Thomas Seifrid
19413 Christina Ct.
Cerritos, CA 90703-7110

Neringa Klumbyte, Miami U, 2020-2021
(mailing address):
Neringa Klumbyte
1210 Forest Ct.
Cincinnati, OH 45215 or klumbyn@miamioh.edu for submission of ebooks

Nancy Condee, U of Pittsburgh, 2021-2022
(mailing address):TBA

Donald Raleigh, UNC at Chapel Hill, 2021-2022
(mailing address):TBA

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