Call for nominations

Nominations are invited from members of the British Society of Criminology for the Brian Williams Prize.  The prize will be awarded to the author of a criminological article, who is a “new” scholar, published in a refereed academic journal during the year, adjudged by the judging panel to meet the criteria for the award and to be the best such article published in that year (see below for detailed eligibility criteria). The Society reserves the right not to make the award if the judging panel considers that no nominated article is of sufficient merit to warrant the award. The prize, £250 in cash, will be awarded at the BSC Conference.

The judging panel will be looking for a journal article 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 article must make a valuable contribution to the further development of criminology.

The general criteria for eligibility are as follows:

  • The nominated article must be sole-authored, and have been published in a refereed journal between 1st January and 31st December of the award year.
  • The author of the article must currently hold a teaching or research position at a university or other higher education institution, and must be within five years of his or her first appointment to any such position*
  • Nominated article should be directly concerned with the subject area of criminology.
  • Authors may self-nominate. Others may nominate with the permission of the author.
  • Nominated authors and other nominators must be members of the BSC and ordinarily resident in the UK.

Nominations must be submitted to Rachel Vipond (care of info@britsoccrim.org). 

Closing date: 10 May 2024. The winner will be announced on 01 July 2024.

* The BSC emphasises that eligibility for this prize is intended to be limited to those who hold an academic post and are in the earliest stages of an academic career. If you have any doubt about your eligibility, or wish to discuss any other aspect of the prize, please contact the organiser for advice.