Mormon History Association award winners announced
According to the Deseret News:
MHA Best Book Award ($2000): Richard Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling
Smith-Pettit Best First Book Award ($1200): Robert S. Wicks and Fred R. Foister, Junius and Joseph: Presidential Politics and the Assassination of the First Mormon Prophet
Steven F. Christensen Award for Best Documentary/Bibliography ($1000): Devery S. Anderson and Gary James Bergera, Joseph Smith’s Quorum of the Anointed, 1842-1845: A Documentary History and The Nauvoo Endowment Companies, 1845-1846: A Documentary History
Turner-Bergera Award for Best Biography ($1000): Greg Prince and William Wright, David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism
J. Talmage Jones Awards of Excellence (â€[a]warded for the two outstanding published articles on Mormon historyâ€) ($350):
Craig Livingston, “Eyes on ‘the Whole European World’: Mormon Observers of the 1848 Revolutions” (Summer 2005 JMH)
Gregory Prince and Gary Topping, “A Turbulent Coexistence: Duane Hunt, David O. McKay and a Quarter-Century of Mormon-Catholic Relations” (Spring 2005 JMH)
T. Edgar Lyon Award for Best Article of the Year ($450): Stephen LeSueur, “Missouri’s Failed Compromise: The Creation of Caldwell County for the Mormons” (Fall 2005 JMH)
Student papers ($400 for graduate student; $300 for undergraduate): Matthew Grow, Stanley Thayne and Benjamin Allred
Finally, Publisher Robert A. Clark and former University of Illinois Press associate director Elizabeth Dulaney were recognized for their contributions to the popularization of Western and Mormon history.
Kevin Barney’s eyewitness report from the first day of MHA meetings can be read here.
(For obvious reasons, he doesn’t mention that he, with a sporting-goods store owner and a professional dog-show judge in the back seat, drove right by a knackered Ronan, who was stuck on the side of a desolate Wyoming road trying to change a flat tyre with a duff spanner.)
Funny, JB. BTW, you were the topic of heated debate last night.
Comment by Ronan — May 27, 2006 @ 8:59 am
I wish I could have tossed in my two cents during the debate. When it comes to discussing myself, I get pretty heated.
Comment by Justin — May 27, 2006 @ 11:43 am
Is it just me, or does it seem that there are more awards for Mormon history books given out by the MHA than there are Mormon history books published in a given year?
With so many awards in such a narrow field, the MHA awards become “Everyone-Wins-A-Prize Day.” [edited].
At least that’s my perception.
Comment by Mike Parker — May 31, 2006 @ 2:15 pm
I’m curious why my last comment was edited. Is it a violation of BT’s comment policy to point out possible conflicts of interest in the giving of an MHA book award?
Comment by Mike Parker — May 31, 2006 @ 10:20 pm
Is it just me, or does it seem that there are more awards for Mormon history books given out by the MHA than there are Mormon history books published in a given year?
MHA could cut out the Best First Book Award. We’d be left with Best Book, Best Biography, Best Documentary/Bibliography, and Best Family/Community History.
I think 2005 was a pretty good year for Mormon history and biography. Some years there is less competition. For example, I wasn’t impressed with any of the candidates for best biography for 2003.
Regarding conflicts of interest, I don’t know the identities of the members of the awards committees last year.
Comment by Justin Butterfield — June 1, 2006 @ 2:43 pm