$1,000 Biennial Book Publication Prize, Presented by The University of Utah Press
The Don D. and Catherine S. Fowler Prize will be awarded to the best book-length, single-author manuscript in anthropology submitted to the Press. All submitted manuscripts must demonstrate the best substantive research and quality writing. Successful entries will focus on the human experience in North America. Submissions in archaeology, ethnography, ethnobiology, ethnohistory, ethnolinguistics, biological anthropology, and paleoecology as it pertains to human behavior are especially welcome. The winning author will receive a publication contract with The University of Utah Press that includes a cash prize of $1,000.
2025 Fowler Prize Judges
Don and Catherine Fowler, James O'Connell, and Kelley Hays-Gilpin
2025 Prize Submission Guidelines
- Manuscripts must be in English in double-spaced Courier New 12-point font and must include all tables and figures. Digital placeholders of figures are acceptable for initial consideration. Include a digital version of all parts of the manuscript, figures, and tables.
- Manuscript length is limited to a maximum of 800 pages, although shorter is preferred.
- Manuscripts must be received by January 31, 2025, and the appropriate acquisitions editor notified via email. Early submissions are encouraged.
- Manuscripts that do not win the Fowler Prize will also be considered for book publication.
- Portions of submitted manuscripts may have appeared in journals or anthologies, but previously published monographs will not be considered.
- The competition is open to all authors except current students, faculty, and staff of The University of Utah. Current and former employees of The University of Utah Press are not eligible for the prize.
- All digital submissions should include a cover letter indicating that this is a submission for the Fowler Prize, the complete manuscript including all illustrations and supplementary materials, and a copy of your most recent C.V.
After completion of the Press’s usual peer-review process, the editorial board–Don and Catherine Fowler, James O’Connell, and Kelley Hays-Gilpin–will determine the winning submission. Awardees will be contacted directly, and the results of the competition will be posted on the Press website no later than October 2025. Please do not call the Press or members of the board to check on the status of your submission. The decision of the editorial board is final.
The Press will publish the winning manuscript, and the winner will receive a $1,000 cash prize. The Prize will be awarded every other year; however, the Press reserves the right to make no award in any given year.
The Press is currently only accepting submissions electronically. Please email Justin Bracken acquisitions editor, for further instructions. Justin.Bracken@utah.edu
2023 Winner:
First Peoples of Great Salt Lake: A Cultural Landscape from Nevada to Wyoming
by Steven R. Simms
Previous Winners:
2021: On Desert Shores: Archaeology and History of The Western Midriff Islands in the Gulf of California by Thomas Bowen
2019: Sally in Three Worlds: An Indian Captive in the House of Brigham Young by Virginia Kerns
2018: The Crimson Cowboys: The Remarkable Odyssey of the 1931 Claflin-Emerson Expedition by Jerry D. Spangler and James M. Aton
2017: From Colonization to Domestication: Population, Environment, and the Origins of Agriculture in Eastern North America by D. Shane Miller
2014: Sending the Spirits Home: The Archaeology of Hohokam Mortuary Practices by Glen Rice
2012: Religion on the Rocks: Hohokam Rock Art, Ritual Practice, and Social Transformation by Aaron M. Wright
2010: Winds from the North: Tewa Origins and Historical Anthropology by Scott Ortman
2009: Foragers and Farmers of the Northern Kayenta Region: Excavations along the Navajo Mountain Road by Phil R. Geib