March 2, 2026
The Association of American Publishers Announces 2026 PROSE Award Winners for Excellence and the R.R. Hawkins Award
Cambridge University Press, Simon and Schuster, and Stanford University Press honored with PROSE Awards for Excellence
Top PROSE Awards Honor, the R.R. Hawkins Award, goes to Cambridge University Press’ Atlantic Cataclysm: Rethinking the Atlantic Slave Trades by David Eltis
The Association of American Publishers (AAP), which is currently celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the PROSE Awards, has announced its 2026 Area of Excellence winners, recognizing an outstanding scholarly publication in each of the following four categories: Biological & Life Sciences, Humanities, Physical Sciences & Mathematics, and Social Sciences.
AAP also announced that the program’s top prize, the prestigious R.R. Hawkins Award, has been awarded to Cambridge University Press’ Atlantic Cataclysm: Rethinking the Atlantic Slave Tradesby David Eltis.
“For fifty years, the PROSE Awards have honored the publishers who deliver the very best in professional and scholarly publishing, and I am delighted to say that the houses behind this year’s Excellence Awards winners have continued that tradition, with stellar works representing all four of the PROSE Categories,” Commented Syreeta Swann, Chief Operating Officer, Association of American Publishers. “Even as we congratulate this year’s exceptional group of honorees, we also applaud each and every PROSE award-winning publishing house that has delivered ground-breaking works over the past half-century. Bravo to all!”
R.R. Hawkins Awards Winner
“Receiving the prestigious R.R. Hawkins Award at this year’s PROSE Awards is a real honour for Cambridge and an extraordinary achievement for David Eltis, whose book Atlantic Cataclysm: Rethinking the Atlantic Slave Trades is rightly recognised for its outstanding contribution to academic scholarship,” commented Mandy Hill, Managing Director, Cambridge University Press. “This award also reflects the shared commitment and close partnership that underpin exceptional publishing. David’s extraordinary scholarship, supported by the dedication and expertise of our publishing team, have enabled us to bring this important piece of work to readers around the world. I’m delighted that the judges have recognised the impact and quality of this work, and I would like to extend my congratulations to all of the winners and finalists.”
“This year’s top honoree, Atlantic Cataclysm: Rethinking the Atlantic Slave Trades, offers a carefully researched, data-driven analysis that dramatically challenges long-held assumptions of the Atlantic slave trade and its aftermath, in the process creating a new understanding of this pivotal period in world history,” commented PROSE Chief Judge Nigel Fletcher-Jones, PhD. “The scholarship and analysis in this work stand out in an already impressive crowd of competitors, and we congratulate Cambridge University Press for producing a work that we believe will swiftly take its place as a touchstone in its field.”
2026 PROSE Excellence Winners are as follows:
R.R Hawkins Award Winner & PROSE Award for Excellence in The Humanities
- Atlantic Cataclysm: Rethinking the Atlantic Slave Trades by David Eltis, Cambridge University Press
PROSE Award for Excellence in Biological & Life Sciences
- Slip: Life in the Middle of Eating Disorder Recovery by Mallary Tenore Tarpley, Simon and Schuster
PROSE Award for Excellence in Social Sciences
- The Worst Trickster Story Ever Told: Native America, the Supreme Court, and the U.S. Constitution by Keith Richotte, Jr., Stanford University Press
PROSE Award for Excellence in Physical Sciences & Mathematics
- Decoherence and Quantum Darwinism: From Quantum Foundations to Classical Reality by Wojciech Hubert Zurek, Cambridge University Press
About the PROSE Awards
Since 1976, the AAP’s annual PROSE Awards have recognized publishers who produce books, journals, and digital products of extraordinary merit that make a significant contribution to a field of study.
During the 2026 PROSE Awards cycle, a prestigious panel of PROSE Awards Judges selected 101 finalists and 37 category winners. Of the 37 exceptional category winners, today’s PROSE Award for Excellence Winners and R.R. Hawkins Award Winner illustrate the highest standards of scholarly publishing, contributing innovative research and impactful scholarship to their respective areas of study.
More information about the 2026 PROSE Awards can be found here.