Visiting Committee Prize for Undergraduate Book Collecting

About this program

The Visiting Committee Prize for Undergraduate Book Collecting, sponsored by the Board of Overseers’ Committee to Visit the Harvard Library, recognizes and encourages Harvard undergraduates’ personally formed book collections with cash awards (first $5,000, second $3,000, third $1,500), an invitation to exhibit, and first-prize eligibility for the National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest. Applicants must be currently enrolled Harvard undergraduates and submit a 1,000–1,500-word essay on the collection’s purpose and history, an annotated bibliography of at least 20 items (images permitted), and a list of ten items they would like to add with brief explanations. Collections must be personally owned and formed by the contestant, any use of generative AI must be disclosed, judges may request to examine the collection or interview contestants, and pseudonyms are not allowed. The application form will be posted in late February 2027 and the submission deadline is March 27, 2027.