The Society of Architectural Historians is accepting nominations for the 2021 Publication Awards through July 31, 2020.

For some time, preservationists have been involved in investigating and evaluating the physical fabric of this country and other nations. In order to encourage further research and publication of research in this field, the Society of Architectural Historians has established an annual award for excellence in a published work devoted to historical topics in preservation. Named for Antoinette Forrester Downing, the award honors her scholarship and recognition of the value of local inventories and surveys.

Criteria for Submission
Publications in English submitted for consideration may include historic resource surveys, historical studies of the preservation movement, philosophical approaches to preservation, or historiographical methods. In each case, the publication should substantially, if not wholly, focus on these subjects in the United States. Books with a printed 2018 or 2019 copyright date are eligible. Entries for consideration may be submitted only by the publisher or publisher’s distributor. Self-published books are not eligible. Journals are not eligible. Subsequent editions of a book are eligible only if the original core material has been edited or revised. A new preface or introduction with no changes to the original text is not eligible. Books submitted for this award may not be submitted in the same year for the Elisabeth Blair MacDougall Award, the Alice Davis Hitchcock Award, the Philip Johnson Award or the Spiro Kostof Award; books that have received one of those awards in a previous year may not be submitted for the Antoinette Forrester Downing Award.

Criteria for Award
The most important criterion is the publication’s contribution to the understanding of the built environment. A second criterion is a high standard of research and analysis, whether the publication was written for a scholarly audience, a general audience, or both. A third criterion is excellence in layout, design, and quality of reproduction.

The Award
The award consists of a certificate and citation that will be presented at the Society’s 74th Annual International Conference in Montréal, Canada, April 14–18, 2021. The award will be announced in the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians and the SAH Newsletter. The winning publication will become part of the Society’s permanent collection, displayed in the library of the Charnley-Persky House in Chicago, Illinois.

The Committee
The Committee is appointed by the president of the Society of Architectural Historians. One copy of the nominated publication, along with the completed nomination form, should be sent to each committee member postmarked by July 31, 2020.

2021 Downing Book Award Nomination Form

For more information, go to SAH’s website.