Cromwell Book Prize

About this program

The American Society for Legal History, through the William Nelson Cromwell Foundation, awards $5,000 annually for the best first book in American legal history by an early-career scholar. Eligible works may address any area of American legal history, with some preference for colonial and early national studies, and must have been published or copyrighted in the previous calendar year. Applicants may be graduate students, law students, postdoctoral fellows, or early-career faculty, and the book must be published no later than the tenth calendar year after the author earned their PhD or highest degree. Nominations from authors, presses, or others must include the book and the author’s CV and be postmarked by June 1, 2026.