Submissions are invited for the Joan Thirsk Memorial Prize offered by the British Agricultural History Society in memory of Joan Thirsk (1922–2013).

The Thirsk prize is an annual award for the best book in British and Irish rural or agrarian history employing broadly historical methodology (so works ofsocial anthropology, archaeology or of contemporary rural sociology will not be eligible). There is a single prize of £500 (which may be split) and the committee are allowed to commend other submissions.

The prize was first awarded earlier in 2017 and is now is offered for books published in the calendar year 2022.

To be eligible for consideration, the work needs to

• be single-authored or jointly authored
• be concerned with British or Irish agrarian or rural history either as its central focus or with substantial treatment of the British or Irish experience in a comparative context
• bear a (first) publication date of 2022. There are no limits on the age or nationality of the author, nor their place of residence.

Collections of essays by multiple authors, unrevised theses or works previously issued in hardback but reissued in paperback in 2022 will not be eligible.

The winner of the prize will be announced in April 2023.

Submissions should be made by the author’s publisher of a pdf or e-book of the work as published, to be received by the Secretary to the committee no later than Noon on Monday 09 January 2023. (It is acceptable if the pdf is watermarked to prevent further circulation.) The committee reserves the right to invite submissions.

The secretary to the prize committee, Dr Spike Gibbs can advise on all queries about eligibility. Enquiries and submissions should be sent to secretary[at]bahs.org.uk

The regulations for the 2023 prize can be found at the BAHS Website: https://www.bahs.org.uk/PDFs/Thirskprize2023.pdf