History

SCMS recognizes that a considerable amount of media studies scholarship is published in anthologies. The Best Edited Collection Award recognizes an outstanding collection of media studies scholarship.

Acknowledging the importance of the work of editors of multi-authored collections to our field, the SCMS Best Edited Collection Award recognizes the best edited collection published during the previous year. This award intends to further the goals of the Society by honoring an outstanding example of newly-edited scholarship (first editions only) that involve the insights of an editor or co-editors in bringing together the best work of multiple scholars in a single volume. This award is also meant to encourage new scholarship that reflects upon the traditions of collaboration and diverse perspectives in our field.

Eligibility

• Edited volumes must be edited by a single editor or multiple editors, and published between August 1, 2024 and July 31, 2025.
• No book may compete for more than one SCMS award.
• Only first edition edited collections are eligible for this award.
• The SCMS Best Edited Collection is meant to recognize the work of editors and of new scholarship by multiple scholars in a single edited volume in which the assembled essays reflect sustained and varied engagement with the book's core theme; hence, textbooks and multiple editions of an edited anthology are ineligible for this award.
• Special editions of journals with guest editors are not eligible for this award.
• Editors and authors may self-nominate.

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 committees' citation, and present the winner with a certificate and a check at the annual conference. The Best Edited Collection has a cash prize of $1,000.
• Failure to follow procedures will result in disqualification.
• A W-9 form is required for the Best Edited Collection award winner before the check will be disbursed.