Nominations are invited from members of the British Society of Criminology and publishers for the Criminology Book Prize. The prize was established in 2001 originally sponsored by Willan Publishing and continues to reflect the desire of the British Society of Criminology and Routledge, to encourage and recognise the achievements of new or aspiring members of the criminology profession. The prize, £100 of books from the Routledge Publishing list – including Willan titles – and £500 in cash, will be awarded at the British Society of Criminology Conference.

The judging panel will be looking for a book which shows evidence of particular distinction and/or innovation in methodology or theorising in the general field of criminology, or in the application of criminological theory or research to crime policy or penal practice. In essence the winning book must make a valuable contribution to the further development of criminology. We particularly welcome nominations from authors in the early years of their academic/research careers.

The general criteria for eligibility are as follows:

• The publication date printed in the book must be within 12 months of the award year and the same book cannot be nominated in two years;
• The nominated book must be the author’s first sole-authored book;
• The nominated book should be directly concerned with the subject area of criminology;
• Authors may self-nominate;
• Nominated authors must be members of the British Society of Criminology;
• Call for nominations closes: 17 May 2025
• Nominations must be submitted to Susan Watson (care of info@britsoccrim.org) and include the nominee’s BSC membership number and a brief CV.
• Any publisher may only submit two books in a year normally.