L.H.M. Ling Outstanding First Book Prize

The L.H.M. Ling Outstanding First Book Prize is awarded for an original and innovative first book published in any field of International Studies by an early-career scholar (up to five years post PhD excluding career breaks, maternity/paternity leave etc). The book must have been published during the course of the 12 months up to 31 December 2025. The aim of the prize is to recognise outstanding early-career research in the discipline, and to honour the work of L.H.M. Ling.

L.H.M. Ling was Professor of International Affairs at the New School and recipient of the 2018 ISA’s Feminist Theory and Gender Studies’ Eminent Scholar Award. One of International Studies’ most curious scholars, Lily’s work stretched across postcolonialism, feminism, Daoism and worldism. Lily is equally remembered for her generosity and compassion, present both in her writing and in her engagement with graduate students, colleagues and wider members of the academic community. We are grateful to Lily’s family for their willingness and generosity in agreeing to name this important prize in her memory.

BISA is committed to building a diverse, inclusive and open research environment. Our prizes are no exception and reflect our inclusive environment where diverse talent can thrive regardless of age, disability, gender, race or background. We welcome applications from individuals currently underrepresented within the discipline of International Studies.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion monitoring

After a nomination is submitted, nominators and nominees will be invited to complete a brief Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) monitoring form to help BISA improve the inclusivity and fairness of its prize processes; all responses will remain anonymous and will not impact prize decisions. We kindly encourage you to take a few moments to fill out the form, as your input is invaluable in supporting our commitment to equity and inclusivity.

Eligibility

• Books may be nominated for ONE BISA prize only each year. The same book cannot be nominated for both the Susan Strange and L.H.M Ling prizes;
• The nominated book must be the first book published by the author;
• Books may be nominated by anyone, including self nominations;
• Nominated authors must have graduated from their PhD no earlier than January 2020, although extensions will be granted to authors who have taken a period of maternity, parental, adoption or sick leave since graduation – please contact the chair of the prize committee, Professor Helena Farrand-Carrapico: helena.farrand-carrapico@northumbria.ac.uk, in these instances and for more details;
• Nominated books can be a published version of a PhD thesis, although books based on research that has already been awarded the BISA Michael Nicholson Thesis Prize may not be nominated;
• Nominators are encouraged to respect the spirit of the prize and nominate only books of the highest quality;
• A maximum of ONE book can be nominated by the same publisher;
• Only nominate books for consideration that will be considered original, make a significant contribution to the field and can be regarded as innovative and excellent. Please ensure you detail why the book meets these criteria, and don’t just provide a dust cover description of the scope of the book (more information below in the 'Guidance for supporting statements' section).
• Nominated books must be in the field of international studies;
• The author(s) need not hold BISA membership;
• The nominated book must have been published between 1 January and 31 December 2025. Where a book is published late in the year but carries a 2026 publication date, you may be required to provide proof that the book was published in the calendar year 2025.

Guidance for supporting statements

• The supporting statement should speak to the original contribution made by the book to the scholarly field of international studies, the significance of this contribution to the scholarly field of international studies, and what makes the book particularly deserving of consideration (e.g., based on extensive fieldwork; new methodological approach; theoretical advancement; new empirical cases, etc.)
• Third party endorsements should not be included in the statement.
• Statements should be no longer than 300 words in length.

All nominations must be made online using the online nomination form. Nominations are open from Tuesday 6 January 2026 until Tuesday 3 February at 11.59pm (UK time). Nominations made outside of the nomination period will not be considered.

The judging process

1. Online nominations are received and reviewed by the Prize committee.
2. Please ensure you make the case for the nomination (why should it be regarded as Excellent, Innovative, High Academic Quality, etc) and please do not just describe the book subject area or provide the dust cover notes (see supporting statement guidance above for further information).
3. Your nomination must be accompanied by the submission of a digital copy of the manuscript. The only accepted format is a PDF file. Any nomination where a PDF file has not been received will be removed from consideration. Please send this file to Ella.Bullard@bisa.ac.uk
4. The prize will be judged by a committee appointed by BISA trustee Professor Helena Farrand-Carrapico, who the Executive Committee have appointed to take responsibility for overseeing this prize. The same trustee will chair the appointed committee.
5. A long-list of a maximum of 10 nominated books will be made.
6. The Prize will be awarded at our annual conference. We reserve the right not to make an award in any particular year.

Have a query?

Enquiries about the prize and the process of nomination should be sent to the chair of the prize committee, Professor Helena Farrand-Carrapico: helena.farrand-carrapico@northumbria.ac.uk.

Past recipients

2025 - Farhana Afrin Rahman: After the Exodus: Gender and Belonging in Bangladesh's Rohingya Refugee Camps. Cambridge University Press 

2024 - Ida Danewid: Resisting Racial Capitalism: An Antipolitical Theory of Refusal. Cambridge University Press.

2023 - Joanne Yao: The Ideal River: How Control of Nature Shaped the International Order. Manchester University Press.

2022 - Sophie Haspeslagh: Proscribing peace: How listing armed groups as terrorists hurts negotiations. Manchester University Press.

2021 - Nivi Manchanda: Imagining Afghanistan: The History and Politics of Imperial Knowledge, Cambridge University Press.

2020 - Becky Alexis-Martin: Disarming Doomsday: The Human Impact of Nuclear Weapons Since Hiroshima