The Phi Beta Kappa Book Awards are presented annually to three outstanding scholarly books published in the United States. The 2024 winners are Gregg Hecimovich for his book The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts: The True Story of The Bondwoman's Narrative; Jeremy Eichler for his book Time's Echo: The Second World War, the Holocaust, and the Music of Remembrance; and Emily Monosson for her book Blight: Fungi and the Coming Pandemic. This year, the Book Awards Dinner was held in person in Washington, D.C. in December 2024, where the three scholars discussed the impetus behind their books and the motives that keep them sleepless—and engaged—in liberal arts and sciences.  
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2024 Phi Beta Kappa Book Awards

This year the Society celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Phi Beta Kappa Book Awards. Beginning in 1954 with what is now the Christian Gauss Award, every year the Society has lauded the accomplishments of exceptional authors in the United States. The Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science and the Ralph Waldo Emerson Award were added in 1960 and 1961, respectively. For 2024, the Society honored Gregg Hecimovich, Emily Monosson, and Jeremy Eichler for their winning titles at the Book Awards Dinner on December 5, 2024.

For more information on the winners, please visit the Phi Beta Kappa Book Award Winners page.

About Key Conversations 

 

Key Conversations with Phi Beta Kappa is a podcast featuring in-depth conversations between Fred Lawrence, Secretary/CEO of Phi Beta Kappa, and Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholars. With a new episode released monthly, each podcast invites listeners to take a seat at the table to learn more about the featured Scholar's background, research, and how they have taken their respective paths to where they are now, and where they are headed. 

Since 1956, the Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Program has been offering undergraduates the opportunity to spend time with some of America's most distinguished scholars. The purpose of the program is to contribute to the intellectual life of the campus by making possible an exchange of ideas between the Visiting Scholars and the resident faculty and students.​
 

Our Host

Frederick M. Lawrence is the 10th Secretary and CEO of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. An accomplished scholar, teacher and attorney, he is one of the nation’s leading experts on civil rights, free expression, and bias crimes. Learn More.

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