Visit the Award description below to submit your nomination. 

Appropriate submissions will demonstrate and be judged on quality of research or scholarship, originality, and contribution to popular and American studies scholarship. While submissions may list more than one author, edited collections are not considered.

Committee Chair: Tina M Budzise-Weaver, browne.single.work.award@pcaaca.org

Appropriate submissions/nominations for this award are edited and co-edited hard cover or paper bound books which feature academic inquiry from a range of scholars (i.e. the nominated volume is a collection of work by more than one or two contributors). Works published within the past year are eligible.

Committee Chair: Judy Clemens-Smucker, browne.edited.collection.award@pcaaca.org

Named for the founders of the PCA/ACA, the Ray and Pat Browne award for Best Edited Reference/Primary Source Work celebrates original contributions to archival history, primary source presentation, or reference collections in any field of popular culture studies. Appropriate submissions demonstrate research/scholarship based on primary source material. Works may take the form of annotated/contextualized reference texts (encyclopedia, bibliography, collections of records, etc.), or the form of more narrative explorations (anthology, etc.). While works may include interpretive features, interpretation should be secondary to the purpose of presenting reference or primary source material. Works published within the past three years are eligible.

Committee Chair: Kurt Milberger, browne.primary.source@pcaaca.org

The John G. Cawelti Award is given annually to recognize important scholarly texts that advance the study of popular and American culture. Nominees may include textbooks, primers, or scholarly books on Popular Culture and American Culture that employ innovative and unique approaches to popular and American culture in the classroom, and can highlight the overall importance and impact of popular and American culture in the past or present.

Committee Chair: Kristen Rudisill, cawelti.award@pcaaca.org

This award honors Susan Koppelman, a feminist literary historian and the editor of groundbreaking critical collections of American women’s short stories. The award recognizes groundbreaking feminist work in popular culture. Works published within the past three years are eligible.

Committee Chair: Caryn Neumann, koppelman.award@pcaaca.org

The Emily Toth Award for Best Single Work in Women’s Studies recognizes outstanding scholarly works that place women at the forefront of critical study. Presented annually, the award is often given as both a first-place honor and an honorable mention. We welcome a wide variety of scholarship — from film and television studies to toys and games, from historical figures to pop-culture icons — reflecting the many ways women’s lives, roles, and representations can be explored. Any author who has published a single work within the last year that centers women in its analysis is eligible. Whether through deep feminist inquiry or lighter cultural examinations, this award celebrates the breadth and vitality of women’s studies in the academic world.

Committee Chair: Erica Dymond, emily.toth.award@pcaaca.org

This award honors the works and contributions to the PCA and to LGBTQ studies by John Leo and Dana Heller. Appropriate submissions demonstrate scholarship that makes a significant contribution to studies in the understanding and representation of LGBTQ people in popular culture. Works published within the past three years are eligible.

Committee Chair: Shane Bruce, leo.heller.award@pcaaca.org

This award recognizes exceptional scholarship that deepens our understanding of African American popular culture. Honoring the legacy of Harry and Katrina Hazzard-Donald, it celebrates innovative research, critical insight, and contributions that highlight the richness and complexity of African American cultural expression. Books published within the last year are eligible for consideration.

Committee Chair: Shannon Skelton, shaw.hazzard-donald.award@pcaaca.org

Honors an outstanding documentary that critically engages with themes in Popular or American culture. The winning film is screened at the PCA Annual Conference. Submit via the PCA submission portal. Films must be completed within the last three years.

Committee Chair: Linda Belau, rollins.award@pcaaca.org

The Allen Ellis Digital Research Award honors innovative academic databases that significantly advance the study of Popular and American Culture. Established in 2010 and renamed in 2020 to recognize the contributions of Professor Emeritus Allen Ellis, the award highlights projects that demonstrate excellence in research, originality, breadth of content, ease of access, and lasting impact on the field.

Committee Chair: Casey Hoeve, ellis.award@pcaaca.org

This award recognizes an outstanding doctoral dissertation in the field of Popular Culture, accepted in the prior academic year. Eligible dissertations may focus on a specific area of Popular Culture studies, apply a particular methodology, or take an interdisciplinary approach. Nominations, including self-nominations, must include a précis or summary of the work, an explanation of its contribution to the field, and an electronic copy of the dissertation.

Committee Chair: Katharine Hubbard, kmj.dissertation.award@pcaaca.org

This award recognizes a member of the Popular Culture Association for consistent and outstanding engagement over the last five years in traditional and other types of work that exemplify hooks’ principles in at least two of the following areas: Teaching (classroom instruction, training, mentoring), Research (publications, presentations, podcasting), Service (institutional, organizational, community). Nominees’ contributions in teaching, research, and service will be evaluated based on the following criteria: Impact, Quality, and Quantity. For additional information, please click HERE

Committee Chair: Colleen Karn, bell.hooks.award@pcaaca.org