Association of Black Anthropologists First Book Prize

*Inaugural Year, 2026

The First Book Prize will be awarded to early career scholars and researchers who are members of the Association of Black Anthropologists (ABA). Books must be single-authored or multi-authored ethnographies or critical works that advance the theory, method, or general approaches exploring the unique experiences of Black peoples globally. Edited volumes are not eligible. The book should have a publication date during the previous two calendar years (i.e. 2024 and 2025 for the 2026 award) and may not have been previously submitted for this prize. Authors must be current ABA members (non-members may join the ABA in order to be considered for the award).

Jury:

The jury for the prize is chaired by the prize chair, who selects two or three other scholars as jury members.

Letters of Nomination:

A one-page nomination letter should be submitted to the prize chair. Nominations from colleagues (junior and senior), press editors and directors, and self-nominations will be accepted.

Criteria:

Relevance to pressing issues of concern to the ABA

Original arguments

Innovative approaches to ethnography

Innovating approaches to theory

Clarity and accessibility of writing

Submission:

Submit the nomination letter, book, and author information through this form. Upload your nomination letter using the form. A hard copy of the book and a PDF/e-book must be mailed/emailed to the prize chair and each member of the jury. Books and letters of nomination must be received by the deadline for full consideration.

Deadline: April 1, 2026

* Decisions will be made by late summer, 2026.

2026 Chair and Jury

Chair: Hanna Garth, hgarth@princeton.edu

Mailing address:

116 Burr Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544

ABA First Book Prize Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfEPPThLRxgOeMLfBkG1dBVjo9O8DU3RgfEvUaQj-96J0qLYQ/viewform

The Dr. Leith Mullings Distinguished Senior Book Prize

*Inaugural Year: 2026

Eligibility:

The Dr. Leith Mullings Distinguished Senior Book Prize will be awarded for a scholar’s second (or subsequent) book. Books must be single-authored or multi-authored ethnographies or critical works that advance the theory, method, or general approach exploring the unique experiences of Black peoples globally, and in the spirit of the scholarship of Dr. Mullings. Edited volumes are not eligible. The book should have a publication date during the previous two calendar years (i.e. 2024 and 2025 for the 2026 award) and may not have been previously submitted for this prize. Authors must be current members of the Association of Black Anthropologists (non-members must join the ABA in order to be considered for the award.)

Jury:

The jury for the prize is chaired by the prize chair, who selects two or three other ABA scholars as jury members.

Letters of Nomination:

A one-page nomination letter should be submitted to the prize chair. Nominations from colleagues (junior and senior), press editors and directors, and self-nominations will be accepted.

Criteria:

Relevance to pressing issues of concern to the ABA

Original arguments

Innovative approaches to ethnography

Innovative approaches to theory

Clarity and accessibility of writing

Submission:

Submit the nomination letter, book, and author information through this form. Upload your nomination letter using the form. A hard copy of the book and a PDF/e-book must be mailed/emailed to the prize chair and each member of the jury. Books and letters of nomination must be received by the deadline for full consideration.

Deadline: April 1, 2026

* Decisions will be made by late summer, 2026.

2026 Chair and Jury

Chair: Hanna Garth, hgarth@princeton.edu

Mailing address:

116 Burr Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544

The Mullings Book Prize Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd-K_ly6v4xDtfXfUYnuCPaJR_MgeOgW1LX5GUjQ-6KLq2DPg/viewform

ABA Dr. Angela M. Gilliam Award for Graduate Research in Latin America

$1000 for Research Graduate Student to support fieldwork in and about Latin America

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Angela M. Gilliam, Ph.D. (1936-2018) received her Bachelor of Arts in Latin American Studies from University of California, Los Angeles. From 1958 to 1962 she attended the National School of Anthropology and History in Mexico City and took courses toward the Master of Science in Ethnology and Anthropology, eventually receiving her Ph.D. from Union Graduate School in 1975. She taught in the Department of Anthropology at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington from 1988 to 2004, where she received Emeritus status. Previously, she was a tenured professor at State University of New York, College at Old Westbury (1970-1990), and a visiting faculty member at the University of Coimbra, Portugal (1976), and the University of Papua New Guinea (1978-1980).

Much of Dr. Gilliam’s research and scholarship focused on race, gender, and class in Latin America. She was fluent and published in both Spanish and Portuguese (and had reasonable skills in French and Japanese). She championed the importance of employing anthropological methods in social science research in Black diasporic communities, and was among a group of African-American scholars who popularized the term “Afro-Latin” in US academe. Drawing from her ethnographic research in Black and indigenous communities in Mexico and Brazil, her critical essays on internal colonialism and racial hierarchies shaped the past four decades of scholarship on gendered anti-Black racism in the region. From 1994-95, she was a Fulbright Scholar teaching graduate studies in anthropology at the University of Brasília in Brazil.

Dr. Gilliam was a proud and active member of professional and civic organizations, including: American Anthropological Association, Association of Black Anthropologists, World Archeological Congress, Latin American Studies Association, and Women for Racial and Economic Equality (for which she traveled as a delegate to Israel/Palestine in 1988 and subsequently testified about to the Congressional Black Caucus), and represented the International Women’s Anthropology Conference at the United Nations (IWAC NGO) from approximately 1984-1988. She participated in the Papua New Guinea student movements and the New Caledonia independence struggles. A busy woman, in her lifetime, Dr. Gilliam also raised a polyglot daughter, loved on her grandflowers, and ran for Lieutenant Governor of New York.

The award application will open from March 1 to May 1, 2026, and a panel of select ABA members and Dr. Gilliam’s family will evaluate the applications. Candidates must be current members of ABA and submit the following via email to drgilliamresearchawardpanel@gmail.com:  

  • CV
  • Cover letter with description of proposed research plan (not to exceed 5 pages)
  • Sample essay reflective of student’s research interest in Latin America (5-10 pages)

Dr. Gilliam was passionate about the field of anthropology, specifically to the study of African-descendant cultures and politics. Successful candidates should share and be able to express similar passion and enthusiasm. Creativity is encouraged; conciseness is appreciated.

Awardees will be notified by August 15, 2026.