Eligibility and Submissions Criteria
For the Freedley Award, the titles must be English-language books of exceptional scholarship in the field of live theatre or performance published or distributed in the United States during 2024.
For the Wall Award, the titles must be English-language books of exceptional scholarship in the field of recorded or broadcast performance published or distributed in the United States during 2024.
Winners of each award will be determined by a separate three-member jury. $500 will be awarded to each of the winners. Each jury may elect to award an additional Special Jury Prize, which includes a $250 honorarium. The awards will be presented at a ceremony online or at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in October 2025.
In order to distinguish TLA’s awards from other associations that focus on theoretical scholarship, the Committee asks for nominations only for books that provide evidentiary examples of an author’s use and interpretation of library/archival materials to support their topic. Collections and anthologies consisting mainly of previously published materials, how-to guides and handbooks, and memoirs/autobiographies without substantial research will not be eligible.
Library materials should be interpreted to mean any resources that libraries acquire – films, manuscripts, books, journals, reference books/databases, archives of ephemeral materials (e.g., newspapers, design sketches, playbills, posters) – in either their original format or in digital or other reproductions. As an association committed to furthering the advancement of archivists and librarians, as well as highlighting the diverse collections we maintain, the thrust of our awards should be on shining a light on the profession and the collections we make accessible and preserve.
The deadline for submission of nominated titles is February 28, 2025.
Early submissions are especially appreciated by jurors.
To submit a title for consideration, you should submit a total of FOUR COPIES of each book nominated to:
Theatre Library Association
c/o The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
111 Amsterdam Avenue
New York, NY 10023
If you are unable to provide physical copies but can provide titles in ebook/PDF format, please contact us.
MANDATORY NOTIFICATION: In order for your title to be considered, you must also email the title of the book you are submitting to tlabookawards@gmail.com. Make sure to include the email address of the person who should be contacted if the book is selected as a winner or finalist.
Questions? Email us at: TLABookAwards@gmail.com.