Awards and Prizes
Celebrating outstanding contributions to African Studies through prestigious awards and prizes.
The Joel Gregory Book Prize is awarded every two years to recognize the best book published in African Studies in the humanities and social sciences. The other prizes are awarded annually at the CAAS Conference.
The Joel Gregory Book Prize
Since 1989, the Canadian Association of African Studies has recognized excellence in scholarship on Africa by awarding the Joel Gregory Prize. Prior to his death in 1988, Professor Gregory was a leading demographer at the Université de Montréal and served as President of the Canadian Association of African Studies and Editor of the Canadian Journal of African Studies.
The Joel Gregory Prize is awarded to the best book published in African Studies in the social sciences and humanities, written by a Canadian, a landed immigrant, or an African who has completed a PhD program in Canada or who has worked in a Canadian organization devoted to the promotion of knowledge of Africa.
Valued at $1,000, the Joel Gregory Prize is announced at the Annual Meeting of CAAS. Nominations are accepted in the two years preceding the conferring of the Prize.
The Call for Nominations for the 2024 Joel Gregory Prize for books published (or to be published) in 2024 and 2025 is open and runs from July 1, 2025, to January 31, 2026.
CAAS has appointed an Evaluation Committee of three distinguished scholars. Publishers can request the committee members' addresses to send a copy of their nominated book by sending an email to execdir@caas-acea.org.
Edited collections are excluded from the competition, but co-authored works that come under the criteria of paragraph two above are not. Multi-authored works cannot be considered, nor can textbooks, syntheses, or works that survey the field.
1- The work must be original and be deemed by the Committee to have a potential seminal impact on African Studies;
2- It must portray an innovative methodological approach or innovative analytical/theoretical perspective, preferably transcending individual disciplines;
3- It must be based on extensive research;
4 - It must be written in a clear, accessible manner.
Recognizing Excellence: The Fraser Taylor Prize for Graduate Research
Graduate students presenting papers at the annual CAAS Conference are eligible for the Fraser Taylor Prize. The Prize, named after a long-time Carleton geographer and valued at $1000, is awarded annually to the best graduate student paper presented at the previous CAAS Conference.
Essays must follow consistent CJAS style guidelines, including a title page, a bibliography, and parenthetical references within the text. Essays may be revised before submission: the essay must be a final draft as if submitted for publication. If the selection committee feels that a paper is publishable or near-publishable, it will be eligible for the prize. Should it win the prize, winners are invited to submit their manuscripts to the Canadian Journal of African Studies. CJAS editors will work with the student to facilitate its publication in the Journal. The prize is announced at the CAAS annual conference.
Eligibility Criteria
Papers must be unpublished and must have been presented at the annual CAAS conference. Co-authored papers are accepted, but all co-authors must be graduate students.
Submission Process
Submit your paper to execdir@caas-acea.org by January 31, 2025, for consideration.
Lifetime Achievement Award for Contributions to African Studies and CAAS
The award recognizes senior scholars who have been engaged actively as CAAS stalwarts and have retired or nearing retirement. The requirements are (1) a lifetime of sound scholarship, (2) accomplishments (research, teaching, and mentoring awards, etc.), and (3) involvement in the activities of CAAS.
Required documents: (a) A two-page summary (single-spaced, Times New Roman font size 12) of the career of the nominee, (b) two letters of reference — one from a colleague, the other from a former student of the nominee. Both letters should be from individuals who can speak to the scholarship, contributions and/or mentoring offered by the nominee. (c) A copy of the CV of the nominee. (d) A one-page cover letter is also required if you are a nominator (this is not required for self-nominations).
Nominations should be sent to execdir@caas-acea.org by January, 31, 2026.
CAAS Award for Meritorious Service
The Award recognizes scholars who have contributed to CAAS through long and extraordinary service. Recipients do not necessarily have to be Africanists but must have made significant contributions to CAAS, its activities or any of its organs. The main requirement is a record of outstanding contributions to CAAS and promotion of its activities.
Required documents:
(a) A two-page summary (single-spaced, Times New Roman font size 12) of the career of the nominee; (b) two letters of reference from individuals who can speak to the nominee’s contributions to CAAS; (c) A copy of the CV of the nominee; (d) a one-page cover letter is also required if you are a nominator (this is not required for self-nominations).
Nomination Process
Nominations should be sent to execdir@caas-acea.org by January, 31, 2026.
Pius Adesanmi Early Career Research Excellence Award
The award is named after Pius Adesanmi, who was a Professor of English, Comparative and African Literatures and Director of the Institute of African Studies at Carleton University, Canada, until his death in the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash on 10 March 2019. Professor Adesanmi was relentless in his work on higher education in Africa. He was a consummate mentor of PhD students at various locations in Africa and North America.
The award is for CAAS members who are within the first six years of completing a PhD. Eligible PhDs are obtained no earlier than 2019 unless a nominee has experienced career interruptions e.g. due to childbirth. Such nominees are eligible for a two-year credit. This means PhDs obtained in 2017 or 2018 will be considered [see requirement #(d) below].
Required documents: (a) a two-page summary (single-spaced, Times New Roman font size 12) of the career of the nominee (with emphasis on specific scholarly contributions and advancement of knowledge within and beyond the PhD dissertation); (b) two letters of reference from academics who can speak to the scholarship, contributions and potential of the nominee; (c) a copy of the CV of the nominee; (d) a one-page cover letter is also required if you are a nominator (this is not required for self-nominations unless you have experienced career interruptions).
Please nominate yourself or nominate someone by submitting the required documents to execdir@caas-acea.org by January 31, 2025.
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