We are delighted to announce that the Canada Prizes, the Federation’s national book funding awards, return this month with a new vision to celebrate five winning books and their authors.
Going forward, the annual Canada Prizes will recognize the country’s five most inspiring, impactful, and transformative scholarly books in the humanities and social sciences selected from the Federation’s Scholarly Book Awards. The Prizes will champion the richness and diversity of Canadian scholarship in line with the Federation’s commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization (EDID).
We are proud to unveil this new phase of the Canada Prizes, which is the outcome of a comprehensive review of the program that began in 2021 and engaged scholars, stakeholders, and Federation community members. Key modifications include:
- Five (5) $4,000 prizes have replaced the previous two (2) $10,000 prizes, to broaden our recognition of authors across various fields.
- New categories have been introduced, including a minimum of two (2) prizes for first time authors and one (1) dedicated prize for French-language books.
- The Scholarly Books Awards (formally the ASPP) Academic Council will serve as the unified jury for the Canada Prizes, replacing the previous separate English and French juries, to foster a more cohesive and inclusive evaluation process.
- EDID principles are embedded in every aspect of the Prizes selection and award process, reflecting a commitment to fostering a more inclusive and equitable scholarly community.
These changes build on the investments made last year to the Scholarly Book Awards to introduce new supplemental grants for Open Access and translations.
As members of the humanities and social sciences community, we invite you to join us in celebrating the 2024 winning authors who will be announced on December 9.
Thank you to the many contributors who have participated in the re-launch of this important program, and to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) whose support makes the Canada Prizes possible.
To learn more and explore the winning books on December 9, visit the Canada Prizes webpage.