(2024 Call Closed)
Now Seeking Environmental Writing For $5,000 Zencey Prize
The Gund Institute for Environment at the University of Vermont and the U.S. Society of Ecological Economics invites submissions for the Eric Zencey Prize in Ecological Economics, which celebrates outstanding writing on the environmental limits of our finite planet.
Named after pioneering scholar Eric Zencey (1954-2019), the prize recognizes the best current affairs book or long-form journalism that advances public understanding of real-world environmental challenges using the principles of ecological economics, a field that explores the relationships between economics and Earth’s limited natural resources.
The winning author will receive $5,000 USD, plus financial support for a trip to the University of Vermont for a public campus event in Burlington, VT. Submissions for the Zencey Prize closed on January 31, 2024.
Zencey Prize criteria:
- Current affairs book or long-form journalism
- Written for a general audience
- Published in 2022 or 2023
- Addresses real-world environmental challenges
- Uses principles of ecological economics
- English language
- Academic journal articles will not be considered
- University of Vermont employees are not eligible for the prize
The term “ecological economics” need not appear in submitted works, but the field’s underlying goals – understanding links among ecological, economic and social systems and advancing sustainability, equity, and human well-being – must be evident.
“I hope this prize will inspire future generations of environmental writers and ecological economists to communicate real-world solutions beyond ‘the Ivory Tower,’” said Eric Zencey, an esteemed scholar and public intellectual who worked to understand and address the great environmental challenges we face.
The most recent Prize was announced Fall 2024, with winner Adrienne Buller to receive the award during a ceremony on the University of Vermont campus in Spring 2025.
Watch the author Tim Jackson recieve the 2022 Zencey Prize:
Donate to support the Zencey Prize, which was created by friends, family and colleagues to support future generations of writers and scholars.