Entering the Prize

The Prize jury at the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers adhere to the rules shown below. Please follow these rules if you wish to enter a publication for a future prize.

The jury, consisting of three antiquarian booksellers and three senior librarians, takes great care to follow this process before nominating the winner of this prestigious prize.

Article 1 - The International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, an international association bringing together national associations of antiquarian booksellers, awards a US$10,000 prize every four years to the author of the best work, published or unpublished, of learned bibliography, of research into the history of the book or of typography, or books of general interest on the subject.

Article 2 - The competition is open, without restriction, but only entries submitted in accordance with these conditions will be considered.

Article 3 - Entries must be submitted in a language which is universally used.

Article 4 - A work already published is eligible only if its publication occurred within the four years immediately preceding the closing date for submission, or if it has an imprint bearing a date within those four years.

Article 5 - Entries in the form of a specialized catalogue of one or more books destined for sale are not eligible, nor are periodicals or public library catalogues.

Article 6 - The Judges:
A. The judges will be composed of: 1) the President of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers; 2) the Secretary of the Quadrennial Prize; 3) a member nominated from the League Committee; 4) three persons whose bibliographical knowledge is generally recognized. These last three, chosen from countries speaking different languages, will be helped by specialists, appointed as necessary.
B. The judges reserve the right to withhold the award if they consider that the entries do not reach a sufficiently high standard.
C. The final decision must be approved by the ILAB Committee
D. In the case of a tie an unpublished work will have the advantage over a published one.

Article 7 - Two copies of each work whether published or unpublished must be deposited at the office of the secretary of the Prize, at the very latest sixteen months before date of award.

Article 8 - Works which are unpublished but are not awarded the prize will be returned to their authors during the two months following the announcement of the award. Works which have been published but not awarded the prize will remain the property of the ILAB, except by special arrangement made between the competitor and the Prize Secretary, before the final date for submitting entries.

Article 9 - The ILAB is not committed to publish unpublished prize works. Nevertheless it does not dismiss the possibility of such publications.

Article 10 - The Prize winner will retain all rights of publication.