About this Prize
A founding member in 1960 of what was then the American Committee for Irish Studies, Robert E. Rhodes served on the ACIS executive committee for many years and as ACIS president from 1986-88. When the book prize in literature was established in his name by Maureen Murphy in 1999, Rhodes began the practice of buying the books of every prize winner, and writing a congratulatory note to each recipient.
Born in Cortland, New York, in 1927, he served with the U.S. Army in the Philippines, and graduated from Cortland State Teachers College. He went on to earn his MA in 1955 and his PhD in 1964 in English at the University of Michigan. Returning to New York, he taught literature from 1958 to 1988 at the State University of New York at Cortland. Rhodes was the recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and the SUNY Cortland Distinguished Alumnus Award. He retired from SUNY Cortland as Professor Emeritus of Anglo-Irish Literature, and remained active on campus until shortly before his death on September 24, 2016. Grateful students established the Robert Rhodes ‘53 Scholarship at SUNY Cortland in his honor.
The Rhodes Prize is awarded to an exceptional monograph about Irish literature. The winning book will be characterized by its depth of research, originality of argument, clear and elegant writing, and potential contribution to the field of Irish Studies. In addition, the work will aim to capture the diversity of Irish writing and scholarship.
Prize Committee
This year’s prize window is now closed.
For all submissions to ACIS book prizes, hard copies are very much preferred but e-copies will be accepted. Please ensure that e-copies are submitted in an easily accessible format (such as PDFs). To submit your book for consideration, please complete the pre-submission form below to obtain mailing addresses of committee members. To meet the prize deadline, submissions must be postmarked by January 1, 2024. It is the responsibility of the nominated author to ensure that the postmark deadline of January 1, 2024 is observed.
Abby Bender, Chair
Sacred Heart University
Michael Cronin
Maynooth University
Seamus O’Malley
Yeshiva University
Elizabeth Grubgeld
Oklahoma State University