Call for Nominations: William Mills Prize for Non-Fiction Polar Books

Prize Information

• The prize consists of $500 US, certificates for the author and publisher, and the right to use the William Mills Prize logo when advertising the winning book.

Eligibility Criteria

• The book must be nonfiction, about the Arctic or Antarctic.
• The book may be any type of substantive work of nonfiction, or reference resource. Textbooks, anthologies, translations and new editions will not be considered unless they are truly outstanding contributions to polar literature.
• Individuals who are not affiliated with the Polar Libraries Colloquy are welcome to submit nominations.
• The book must have been published for the first time within the two calendar years before the Colloquy at which the award will be given. The timeframe for the 2026 award is January 2024 to December 2025.
• The official language of the Colloquy is English. For this reason, books must be published in an English language version to be eligible.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Books authored, edited or published by members of the current Polar Libraries Colloquy Steering Committee are not eligible for nomination.

Applications Requirements

• Nominations must include:
  • Author(s) / Corporate author(s)
  • Title
  • Publisher
  • Date of publication (for the 2026 award, must be between January 2024 and December 2025)
  • Statement of the reasons why the nominator thinks the book should be considered for the prize and the value of the title to polar literature.

For more information, visit Polar Libraries Colloquy.