Call for HAD Osterbrock Book Prize Nominations

The AAS Historical Astronomy Division (HAD) invites nominations for the 2027 Donald E. Osterbrock Book Prize for Historical Astronomy. Nomination deadline: 1 March 2026.

HAD awards the Donald E. Osterbrock Book Prize biennially to the author(s) of a book judged to advance the field of the history of astronomy or to bring history of astronomy to light. Books copyrighted in the years from five years before the award year through two years before the award year will be eligible for this award.

The award is made in odd-numbered years. The next award will be made at the January 2027 AAS meeting. To be eligible for the Prize, a book must have been published two to five years preceding the award. Thus, only books with publication dates 2022 through 2025 shall be eligible for the 2027 prize, the recipient of which shall be chosen in fall 2026.

Nominations for the prize may be made by any HAD member, including Division Affiliate members, and must be made by 1 March 2026, to be eligible for the 2027 award.

Nominations should be sent to the HAD Secretary-Treasurer at [email protected], who is also the secretary of the HAD Prize Committee. Books with publication dates of 2022 or 2023 that were nominated for the 2025 prize remain in contention and do not need to be renominated. It is recommended that nominators include a letter in support of their nomination and give references to any published reviews. Additional letters of support are welcome. Email is preferred.

Additional details about past awardees, ground rules for submissions, and the selection process can be found at the HAD website here.