Tag: News

Alan Ball Awards 2024

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We are once again seeking nominations for the Alan Ball Awards – the UK’s leading prize for local history publishing.

The object of the Awards is to encourage the production of high quality publicly or locally funded local history publications. They are open to all heritage and community organisations; and individuals that have self-published. Our criteria for assessing the award are not just about the quality and content of a publication, but its whole journey i.e. how it was conceived, who is involved and how it was funded.

We especially welcome submissions from libraries, archives, museum and archaeology services, small local museums and heritage centres, Local History societies, community history projects and local authors.

2024 Award

We have three categories:

  • Print publication – for best hardcopy publication 
  • E-publication – for best digital publication (e-books, journals, websites or virtual exhibitions, blogs and apps – we are sorry but we are unable to include digital installations within heritage or museum sites)
  • Community Award – for best community publication in either category

The publication needs to have appeared between January and December 2024.

Nominations including a copy of the publication or link to e-content to be submitted by end of January 2025. 

For further information, and to submit an application, visit our nomination page.

Alan Ball winners 2023 announced

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Logo for Alan Ball Award

CILIP Local Studies Group and the Library Services Trust are pleased to announce the winners of the Alan Ball Awards for the best local history publications that were published in 2023. Once again, we had a good number of high-quality publications that made judging very difficult. The winners are:

Hardcopy joint winners

Glasgow Life Museums, Scotland’s Lascar Heritage: Investigating the lives of South Asian Mariners (Glasgow Museums Publishing in Association with the Bangladesh Association Glasgow, 2023). Available here: https://shop.glasgowlife.org.uk/products/scotland-s-lascar-heritage-investigating-the-lives-of-south-asian-mariners

Paula Stevens, Lavenham House Histories (Self-Published, 2023). Available here: https://paula-stevens.sumupstore.com/

Hardcopy highly commended

Kevin Crangle, Ardglass and Dunsford County Down Biographies (Self-Published, 2023). Available here: https://ulsterhistoricalfoundation.com/shop/products/ardglass

Lancashire Archives, Archives: Lancashire History Magazine (issues 2 & 3, 2023). More information here: https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/libraries-and-archives/archives-and-record-office/archives-magazine/

E-publication winner

Harlaxton History Society website 2023; www.harlaxtonhistory.co.uk

Community Project publication winner

Newport History Group, Lest We Forget: Poppy Project 2022 (Newport on Tay, Fife, 2023). Available here: https://www.newportontayhistory.org.uk/shop/Lest-We-Forget-p601784795

Congratulations to all the winners and to everyone who submitted their publications. An online presentation event will take place in July 2024.

Nominations are open for hard copy and e-publications published in 2024, closing date end of January 2025.