Applications for 2026 are now open through April 15th, 2026. To apply, please fill out our Global Application for Awards. Submitting an application implies attendance at the annual conference, where the winner will be announced at our awards ceremony. Authors or their presses can submit an application.
Each year, SAMLA honors two outstanding scholarly works: one monograph and one edited collection.
For the 2026 SAMLA Studies Book Awards, SAMLA is accepting nominations of books published during the 2025 calendar year in English or other modern languages in the fields of language, culture, or literature.
All authors and collection editors must have been SAMLA members for at least one year prior to application in order to remain eligible for this award.
You can submit a PDF or EPUB version of your text during the application on the Global Application for Awards. We do not accept physical copies.
2025 Award Winner – Monograph
 Disability Works: Performance after Rehabilitation NYU Press Patrick McKelvey |
2025 Award Winners – Edited Collection
 Race in the Multiethnic Literature Classroom University of Illinois Press Edited by Christina Stanciu and Gary Totten |
SAMLA Studies Award Committees
Monograph
Jerod Ra’Del Hollyfield (2026)
Carson-Newman University
Leticia Pérez Alonso (2027)
Jackson State University
Lan Dong (2028)
University of Illinois Springfield
Shahara’Tova Dente (2029)
Mississippi University for Women
Edited Collections
Ronja R. Bodola (2026)
LSU Health Sciences Center
Lidiana de Moraes (2027)
Vanderbilt University
Edwin Murillo (2028)
University of Tennessee – Chattanooga
Xinyiang Li (2029), University of Georgia
Aishat Babatunde (2030) – University of Georgia
If you are interested in committee service, please contact the SAMLA office via email.
