The Robert and Vineta Colby Scholarly Book Prize

About this program

The Research Society for Victorian Periodicals (RSVP) awards the annual Robert and Vineta Colby Scholarly Book Prize to original book‑length scholarship that advances understanding of the nineteenth‑century British press; the winner receives $3,000 USD and travel expenses to deliver a keynote at RSVP’s next annual conference. Eligible works must have been published in the preceding calendar year and treat the British nineteenth‑century periodical press as either the central focus or a substantial element; acceptable formats include monographs, edited volumes, reference works, bibliographies, scholarly editions, biographies, and critical studies. Nominations may be submitted by publishers or members of the reading public via RSVP’s Colby Book Prize nomination form between November 15 (of the book’s publication year) and January 31 (of the awarding year); author self‑nominations are prohibited, and books by RSVP directors/officers may be nominated but are not eligible to receive the monetary award. Winners are typically announced in April; additional details and the nomination form are available on RSVP’s website.