The Louis Pelzer Memorial Award Committee of the Organization of American Historians invites candidates for graduate degrees to submit essays for the 2005 Louis Pelzer Memorial Award competition. Essays may deal with any period or topic in the history of the United States. The winning essay will be published in the Journal of American History, and the winner will receive $500.

Essays should be submitted in quintuplicate and should not exceed 7,000 words (including endnotes) in length. The endnotes should be triple-spaced. Because manuscripts are judged anonymously, the author's name and graduate program should appear only on a separate cover page.

Significance of the subject matter, literary craftsmanship and competence in the handling of evidence are some of the factors that will be considered in judging the essays. The deadline for submitting an essay for consideration is December 1, 2004. Manuscripts should be clearly labeled "2005 Louis Pelzer Memorial Award Entry" and addressed to:

David Nord, Interim Editor, Journal of American History (Committee Chair)
Louis Pelzer Memorial Award Committee
1215 East Atwater Avenue
Bloomington, IN 47401

The winner will be notified by the organization after February 1, 2005.

Members of the Louis Pelzer Memorial Award Committee

David Nord, Interim Editor, Journal of American History, Chair

John Dittmer, DePauw University

Lynn Dumenil, Occidental College

Carl Guarneri, St. Mary's College of California

Andrew J. Rotter, Colgate University