Nominate a book published in 2025 by March 31, 2026.
We are pleased to announce that nominations are now open for the 2026 R.L. Shep Memorial Book Award, presented annually by the Textile Society of America. This award honors the late Robert Lee Shep, a devoted supporter of textile scholarship, whose legacy continues through an endowment he established in 2000. As Roy Hamilton writes in his wonderful remembrance, “TSA has lost a steadfast friend and supporter with the passing of Robert Lee Shep on December 21, 2022.”
The award celebrates exceptional writing that deepens our understanding of textile traditions through the lens of cultural practice and ancestral heritage. It recognizes the most outstanding book published in 2025 in the field of global cultural heritage textile studies. The recipient will receive a $1,000 cash prize.
For more about the award or to nominate a book, please use the links or buttons below. Nominations are due March 31, 2026 by midnight EST.
• Click here to read Roy Hamilton’s remembrance of R.L. Shep.
• Click here for more information about the award process and eligibility.
Nominations must include the title of the book and name of at least one author or editor, year of publication, name of publisher, if known, and briefly summarize the main subject/contributions of this book and why it deserves to win this award (150 words maximum). Nominations may be submitted by anyone.
Recent awardees include Andrew James Hamilton’s The Royal Inca Tunic: A Biography of an Andean Masterpiece, Dr. Nazanin Hedayat Munroe’s Sufi Lovers, Safavid Silks and Early Modern Identity, Sylvia Houghteling’s The Art of Cloth in Mughal India, and Sylvia Fraser-Lu’s Textiles in Burman Culture.
For questions and further information about the award, please contact Shep Award Committee: Chair Dr. Julia Hendon at jhendon@gettysburg.edu; TSA Awards Committee Director of Awards and Scholarships Vandana Bhandari, vb@vandanabhandari.com; or TSA Executive Director, Ashley Occhino director@textilesocietyofamerica.org.
Image: Tent Hanging or Coverlet (Djerbi) (detail). Possibly from Laghouat, Algeria, c. 1850-1900. The Art Institute of Chicago, Major Acquisitions Fund, 2003.175. Creative Commons Zero (CC0).
