The Marilyn Lake Prize for Australian Transnational History is a biennial prize of $2000 awarded by the Australian Historical Association for the best book in Australian Transnational History.
The AHA awards this prize in the name of Professor Marilyn Lake, DLitt, FAHA, FASSA, AO, who held Professorial appointments at La Trobe University, Harvard University, Stockholm University, the ANU and the University of Melbourne. She also served two terms as President of the AHA, from 2010 until 2014. Her published work include prize-winning books and essays in transnational history, including: Drawing the Global Colour Line: White Men’s Countries and the International Challenge of Racial Equality co-authored with Henry Reynolds; Connected Worlds: History in Transnational Perspective co-edited with Ann Curthoys; and Progressive New World: How Settler Colonialism and Transpacific Exchange Shaped American Reform.
The focus of transnational history is the interconnectedness of histories across national boundaries. It charts and analyses the movement of peoples and circulation of ideas, knowledge, law, technologies and commodities beyond national boundaries and their influence in creating transnational communities, whose history offers new perspectives on the past. The prize will be awarded to a book of original scholarship that generates new knowledge about Australian history in any of its phases, using transnational methodology and preferably drawing on research undertaken in overseas archives.
The Marilyn Lake Prize is funded through the AHA Public Fund, which supports the creation, publication, dissemination and discussion of historical literature in Australia.
This prize will be next awarded in 2025 for a book published in 2023-2024.
Expressions of interest are due 31 October 2024.
Applications are due 31 January 2025.
Terms and conditions
The Prize of $2,000 and citation will be awarded biennially at the AHA Conference.
The prize will be awarded to a monograph of original scholarship that generates new knowledge about Australian history in any of its phases, using transnational methodology and preferably drawing on research undertaken in overseas archives. Books should consider the interconnectedness of histories across national boundaries, chart or analyse the movement of peoples, the circulation of ideas, knowledge, law, technologies or commodities.
Eligibility
Authors must be members of the AHA at the time of application.
Applicants must be an Australian citizen, or permanent resident of Australia normally resident in Australia.
Current members of the AHA Executive Committee and AHA Public Fund Committee are ineligible to apply for this award.
Applications
An intention to submit should be emailed by 31 October 2024, to executive@theaha.org.au.
Nominations may be made either by the author or, with the nominee’s permission, by the book’s publishers or by any member of the Australian Historical Association.
Full entries must include three hard copies of the book, to be accompanied by a completed application form giving author’s full name and postal address (where applicable, institutional address preferred).
Applications are due by 31 January in the year of the Award.
The AHA strives to conduct its activities sustainably. Please note that, subject to the preference of the judging panel, this prize may require digital submissions, hard copy submissions, or a combination thereof, in order to reduce its environmental impact.
Application forms can be emailed to executive@theaha.org.au. The hard copies should be posted to:
AHA Secretariat, PO Box 1118, Dickson, ACT 2602
Selection process
A panel of three judges will be appointed by the AHA Executive Committee. The judges’ decision will be final.