William Mills Prize for Non-Fiction Polar Books

The William Mills Prize for Non-Fiction Polar Books was established in memory of William Mills, who was a core member of Polar Libraries Colloquy during its formative years and a consummate polar librarian as well as author.

The book prize honors the best Arctic or Antarctic nonfiction books published throughout the world. The prize consists of $300 US, certificates for the author and publisher, and the right to use the William Mills Prize logo when advertising the winning book.

Winning titles are announced on pollib-L, on the Colloquy web site, in the Polar Libraries Bulletin and other appropriate library publications. The prize was first awarded in 2006.

Qualifications for Nomination

  1. The book must be nonfiction, about the Arctic or Antarctic.
  2. The book may be any type of substantive work of nonfiction, or reference resource. Textbooks, anthologies, edited works, and other small-scale efforts will not be considered unless they are truly outstanding contributions to the polar literature.
  3. 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 2018 award is January 2016 to December 2017. Re-releases, translations of older materials, and updated editions will not be eligible.
  4. The official language of the Colloquy is English. For this reason books must be published in an English language version to be eligible.

For more information, please contact the William Mills Prize Coordinator, Julia Finn.

Nomination Process

  1. Nominations must include:
    • Author(s) / Corporate author(s)
    • Title
    • Publisher
    • Date of publication (for the 2018 award, must be between January 2016 and December 2017)
    • 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.
  2. Nominations should be sent via email to Julia Finn, William Mills Prize Coordinator.
  3. The deadline to submit a nomination is March 31, 2018.

William Mills Prize Recipients & Nominees