About the 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.

2022 Book Prizes

The press release announcing the winners of the 2022 Book Prize can be read here.

Submissions are now being accepted for the Society's 2023 Book Prizes (for books published in 2022) and the deadline is August 1, 2023. The 2023 prize recipients will be announced during the Society's 2024 Annual Meeting to be held in Fort Worth, Texas on January 27th. Please contact Society This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with questions. The submission guidelines and form can be viewed and printed here or you can fill out the submission form online. A map of the Republic of Texas in 1836 can be seen here for the purposes of an author's connection to Texas. 

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César L. de León, Speaking with Grackles by Soapberry Trees, 2021

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Logen Cure, Welcome to Midland, 2021

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James E. Crisp, Inside the Texas Revolution: The Enigmatic Memoir of Herman Ehrenberg, 2021

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Neal Spelce with Thomas Zigal, With the Bark Off: A Journalist's Memories of LBJ and a Life in the News Media, 2021

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Jan Reid, The Song Leader, 2021

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Chera Hammons, Maps of Injury, 2020

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Matt Morton, Improvisation Without Accompaniment, 2020

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Don Carleton, The Governor and the Colonel: A Dual Biography of William P. Hobby and Oveta Culp Hobby, 2020

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Carl H. Moneyhon, George T. Ruby: Champion of Civil Rights in Reconstruction Texas, 2020

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Gregg Cantrell, The People's Revolt: Texas Populists and the Roots of American Liberalism, 2020

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Elizabeth Wetnore, Valentine, 2020

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Lawrence Wright, The End of October, 2020

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Paulette Jiles, Simon the Fiddler, 2020

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Edward Vidaurre, JazzHouse, 2019

Art of Texas CoverRon Tyler, The Art of Texas, 150 Years, 2019

Big Wonderful Thing CoverStephen Harrigan, Big Wonderful Thing: A History of Texas, 2019

OutcryWitnessThomas Zigal, Outcry Witness, 2019

Dragonfly CoverLeila Meachan, Dragonfly, 2019

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Megan Peak, Girldom, 2018

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Andrew Sansom, Seasons at Selah: The Legacy of the Bamberger Ranch Preserve, 2018

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Elizabeth Crook, The Which Way Tree, 2018

Dan Williams, Past Purgatory, a Distant Paradise, 2017

Andrew Sansom and William E. Reaves Of Texas Rivers and Texas Art, 2017

Chanelle Benz, The Man Who Shot Out My Eye Is Dead, 2017

Jonathan Fink, Barbarossa, 2016

Kenneth Hafertepe, The Material Culture of German Texans, 2016

Dominic Smith, The Last Painting of Sara de Vos, 2016

James Hoggard, James Hoggard: New and Selected Poems 2015

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Ron J. Jackson Jr. and Lee Spencer White, Joe: The Slave Who Became an Alamo Legend 2015

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Sanderia Faye, Mourner's Bench: A Novel 2015

Christian Wiman, Once in the West 2014

Katie Robinson Edwards, Midcentury Modern Art in Texas 2014

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James Magnuson, Famous Writers I Have Known: A Novel 2014

Sarah Bird, Above the East China Sea 2014

Raúl Coronado, A World Not to Come: A History of Latino Writing and Print Culture 2013

Thomas Zigal, Many Rivers to Cross 2013

Jan Reid, Let the People In: The Life and Times of Ann Richards, University of Texas Press, 2012

Ben Rehder, The Chicken Hanger: A Novel, Texas Christian University Press, 2012

Michael Berryhill, The Trials of Eroy Brown:The Murder Case that Shook the Texas Prison System, University of Texas Press, 2011

Gerald Duff, Blue Sabine, 2011

Dan K. Utley and Cynthia J. Beeman, History Ahead: Stories beyond the Texas Roadside Markers, Texas A&M University Press, 2010.

Emilio Zamora, Claiming Rights and Righting Wrongs in Texas: Mexican Workers and Job Politics During World War II, Texas A&M University Press, 2009

Pekka Hämäläinen, Comanche Empire, Yale University Press, 2008

Stephen Fox, The Country Houses of John F. Staub, Texas A&M University Press, 2007

Richard B. McCaslin, At the Heart of Texas, 100 Years of the Texas State Historical Association, 1897-1997, Texas State Historical Association Press, 2006

Mavis P. Kelsey Sr. and Robin Brandt Hutchinon, Engraved Prints of Texas, 1554-1900. Texas A&M University Press, 2005

David La Vere, The Texas Indians, Texas A&M University Press, 2004

Randolph B. Campbell, Gone to Texas: A History of the Lone Star State, Oxford University Press, 2003

James L. Haley, Sam Houston, University of Oklahoma Press, 2002

Hal K. Rothman, LBJ's Texas White House: "Our Heart's Home," Texas A&M University Press, 2001

Frank D. Welch, Philip Johnson & Texas, University of Texas Press, 2000