Peggy O’Brien Book Prize, Irish Association for American Studies

Peggy O’Brien

Named in honour of Professor Peggy O’Brien, a founder of the Irish Association for American Studies, the biennial prize of 500 Euro is awarded for the best single-authored monograph published in American Studies.

A scholar and a poet, Peggy O’Brien is the author of four collections of poems: Sudden Thaw, Frog Spotting, Trusting Ice and most recently Tongues. She is also the editor of the Wake Forest Book of Irish Women’s Poetry and the author of the critical study, Writing Lough Derg: from William Carleton to Seamus Heaney. She spent half her teaching career at Trinity College, Dublin and the other half at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Peggy, however, spends as much time as possible in Ireland, where her daughter and granddaughters live.

how to enter

Applications are currently closed

The Peggy O’Brien Book Prize is a biennial prize open to IAAS members who are normally resident on the island of Ireland.

The 2020 special anniversary book prize was open to all international IAAS members who had published a book in American Studies between 2017 and 2019 inclusive. The winner of the 2020 prize was announced at the 2021 conference on 9th April.

Please keep checking this page for updates on the 2022 book prize application process.