- The Chambliss Writing Award is to be given for astronomy writing for an academic audience, specifically textbooks at either the upper division undergraduate level or the graduate level. The motivation for this choice is the fact that introductory textbooks and popular astronomy books have large markets and a number of existing modes of recognition and reward. Books serving astronomy majors and graduate students, by contrast, have relatively small markets and excellence in this area is rarely recognized. Nonetheless, such books serve a vital role in the professional development.
- Books suitable for this award must be currently available in North America. A single medal will be given if the winning book has multiple authors, the monetary award divided and multiple certificates issued.
- Nominations will be formally invited each year via an announcement in the AAS Newsletter. The call for nominations will be also circulated to the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and a listserve of Astronomy Department chairs, for forwarding to their teaching faculty.
- Nominations will be by an AAS member with three supporting letters, at least one of which must also be from an AAS member. The nomination form will be available in the members-only section of the AAS web site. The nominator will be expected to fill in basic information about the book being nominated, the author or authors, including contact information, and the academic role and intended audience of the book. They will also submit a statement to state why the book is being singled out for recognition with this award. Self-nominations are permitted from AAS members only.
- An Astronomical Writing Award Committee will be appointed by the AAS Council to make an annual recognition for the award. There will be three members with staged terms, with the members proposed by the Committee on Appointments.
- Nominations will remain active for three years as for other AAS awards and prizes.
The committee will have the option of not making an award in any one year if the nominations are not considered sufficiently meritorious.
Chambliss Award Nomination Form
