History
The Best First Book Award offers a cash prize in recognition of the best first book published in the field of film and media studies.
Eligibility
- To be eligible, books must be published between August 1, 2024 and July 31, 2025.
- Nominated titles must be the first book written by the entrant and must have a minimum length of ~75,000 words.
- Republished volumes, edited collections, and multi-authored works or books previously published in another language are not eligible.
- No book may compete for more than one SCMS award.
- Self-nominations are allowed.
Procedures
- Entrants must complete the submission form through the Awards portal by the annual deadline.
- All book submissions must be submitted as ebooks or digital files through the submission portal. No physical copies will be accepted. Digital files must be accessible to committee members without additional software or credentials. Watermarked digital
copies are accepted. Physical copies of published books may be requested by the award committee at any point throughout the review process.
- The SCMS office will notify the official winner and all entrants.
- The chair of the committee will announce the winner of the award, read the committee citation, and present the winner with a certificate and a check for $1,000 at the annual conference.
- Failure to follow procedures will result in disqualification.
- A W-9 form is required before the check will be disbursed.
