The 3rd Wadjih F. al-Hamwi Prize for the Best First Book in Mediterranean Studies (2027)
The 3rd Wadjih F. al-Hamwi Prize for the Best First Book in Mediterranean Studies covers scholarly and trade publications published from 2024 to 2026 inclusive. The committee is most interested in books that break new ground conceptually or methodologically, are comparative and/or interdisciplinary, that emphasize intercultural/interregional/inter-religious contact, and that are “of” rather than merely “in” the Mediterranean. Books treating any period will be considered, and entries from any of the relevant Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines are welcome, including but not limited to all fields of history, art and material culture, religious studies, literary and cultural studies, anthropology, and sociology. The Mediterranean is broadly construed as the region centered on the sea, but including connected hinterlands in Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, the western Indian Ocean, the Near East and Central Asia.
Wadjih F. al-Hamwi and family
The prize is named in honor of Wadjih Fouad al-Hamwi (1938-2021). Born and raised in Aleppo, the city he lived in throughout his life, Wadjih earned a degree in English Literature at Aleppo University where he then began to teach. Here, he earned the admiration and respect of both colleagues and the scores of students that passed through his classroom, such that he could scarcely walk down the street in Aleppo without being greeting by embraces, handshakes, and cries of Ustadh! from passersby. Eventually, he left the university to open a professional translation service, and came to be reputed as one of the top English-Arabic translators in Syria, before beginning work in tourism as well. Immensely proud of his Arab (through his father) and Ottoman (through his mother) heritages and of his Syrian homeland, he was a humane and cosmopolitan individual, whose friendships were not foreclosed by national, ethnic or religious identity, and whose noble character, generosity and humanity epitomized the best values of the Mediterranean Seminar in particular and of humanities scholarship in general. He remained in Aleppo with his family through the tribulations of the last decade, succumbing after a determined fight to COVID in March 2021. Brian Catlos, Mediterranean Seminar Co-Director had the great privilege of studying Arabic under Wadjih in Aleppo in 1992-3 establishing what became a deep friendship which endures now as a dear memory.
The committee for the 2027 Wadjih F. al-Hamwi Prize:
• Brian A. Catlos: Religious Studies, University of Colorado Boulder
• Sharon Kinoshita: Literature, University of California Santa Cruz
• Teresa Shawcross: History, Princeton University
Criteria & Eligibility
Eligible publications are dated 2024—2026.
The contest closes at 11:59pm PST, 31 December 2026.
Late submissions are not accepted
The winner will be announced on or around 1 June 2027.
The entries submitted should reflect the goals and mission of the Mediterranean Seminar, namely, to promote the Mediterranean region as a framework for scholarly inquiry and pedagogy. See www.mediterraneanseminar.org for details.
Eligible books include original scholarly or trade books published in their original language. Source editions, textbooks, translations (other than as noted below), and collections of essays, are not eligible.
If the book you are nominating does not relate explicitly to the history, culture or geography of the Mediterranean, kindly do not submit a nomination as your entry will have no chance of winning.
If the book you are nominating does not engage specifically with the Mediterranean framework or Mediterranean Studies methodologies, kindly do not submit a nomination as your entry will have no chance of winning. This includes books that recount phenomenon located in the Mediterranean, but do not otherwise engage intellectually with the paradigm.
We are most interested in books that break new ground conceptually or methodologically, are comparative and/or interdisciplinary, that emphasize the intercultural/interregional/inter-religious contact, that are “of” rather than merely “in” the Mediterranean. Although we focus on the pre- and Early Modern, books ranging from any period will be considered. Books from any of the relevant Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines are welcome, including but not limited to all fields of history, art and material culture, literary and cultural studies, anthropology, and sociology. The Mediterranean is broadly construed as the region centered on the sea, but including connected hinterlands in Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, the western Indian Ocean, the Near East and Central Asia.
Past winners can be found here.
Contest Rules
This is a “first book” prize, meaning the author’s first authored or co-authored scholarly or scholarly-adjacent book and their first book relating to the Mediterranean. Editions, translations, and edited collections of essays are not are not considered.
Only books in English are eligible. Translations to English from other languages are eligible if the original work was published within the contest period.
Authors employed by or affiliated with the judges’ home institutions are not eligible to enter.
Entries will include a statement of nomination (500 words maximum) either by the author or the nominating party and a pdf copy of the book. Book reviews and prize citations may be included as supporting material, and we encourage their submission.
Hard copies must also be sent to all three judges. These must be post-marked on or before 31 December 2026.
Authors must be associates of the Mediterranean Seminar (membership is free) prior to the submission of their entry.
Authors may nominate their own books. Publishers may nominate only one book, or one book per monograph series.
FIne print
Contest materials will not be returned.
Prizes are awarded and eligibility determined at the sole discretion of the judges and are final.
Contest rules may change at the sole discretion of the Mediterranean Seminar.
Contest entry is at one’s own risk and the judges and the Mediterranean Seminar accepts no liability or claim against them connected with the contests.
If the judges feel no book reaches the standards of the prize in a given round no prize will be awarded.
At their discretion the judges may recognize another book or books as “Runner up,” “Honorable Mention,” or may declare a tie with two winners.
For inquiries please contact mailbox@mediterraneanseminar.org.
If you have submitted the form successfully you will receive a copy of the form via email. If you do not, your form has not been correctly submitted. If you have, kindly do not contact us for further confirmation.
If your hard copies have not been received by 15 January you will be notified. Otherwise, do not inquire if your hard copies have been received by the judges as you will not receive a reply.
Kindly do not inquire as to the status of your submission or the contest results. They will be announced in due course.