Mary Zirin Prize
The Association for Women in Slavic Studies (AWSS) is pleased to announce the call for nominations for the Mary Zirin Prize in recognition of an independent scholar in the field of Slavic Studies. The award of $500 is named for Mary Zirin, the founder of Women East-West.
Working as an independent scholar, Zirin produced and encouraged fundamental works in Slavic/East European Women’s Studies and has been instrumental in the development of the AWSS. The Prize aims to recognize the achievements of independent scholars and to encourage their continued scholarship and service in the fields of Slavic or Central and Eastern European Women’s Studies.
The Zirin Prize is open to scholars of any gender in Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies. We particularly encourage applications from those whose scholarship or service focuses on women’s or gender studies.
The Committee encourages the nomination of candidates from all career stages. For the purpose of this award, an independent scholar is defined as a scholar who is not employed at an institution of higher learning, or who is employed at a university or college but is not eligible to compete for institutional support for research (for example, those teaching under short-term contracts or working in administrative posts).
We welcome nominations from Central and Eastern Europe and from Eurasia. Nominations must include: (1) a nomination letter, no more than two pages long, double-spaced; (2) the nominee’s updated curriculum vitae; (3) a sample publication (e.g., article or book chapter). The nomination letter should describe the scholar’s contribution to the field, as well as work in progress.
Please direct all inquiries and nomination materials to Zirin Prize Committee Chair: Dr. Aleksandra Jakubczak, alex.jakubczak@gmail.com
Committee:
Dr. Aleksandra Jakubczak, alex.jakubczak@gmail.com
Dr. Svitlana Biedarieva, svitlana.biedarieva@gmail.com
Dr. Illeana Nachescu, vn122@womenstudies.rutgers.edu
Deadline: Nominations (including self-nominations) will be accepted until September 1, 2026
Contact Information
Aleksandra Jakubczak, Mary Zirin Prize Committee chair
alex.jakubczak@gmail.com
