The Vernacular Architecture Forum is pleased to institute a new annual award, named in honor of longtime member and influential scholar Catherine W. Bishir.  The Bishir Prize is awarded annually to the scholarly article from a juried North American publication that has made the most significant contribution to the study of vernacular architecture and cultural landscapes.  In judging the nominated articles, the jurors look for an article that is based on primary research, breaks new ground in interpretation of methodology, and contributes generally to the intellectual vitality of vernacular studies.  Entries may come from any discipline concerned with vernacular architecture studies.  Articles published in the two years prior to the conference (i.e., from June 2011 onward) are eligible for consideration.  Please note that essays published as chapters in a book are also eligible if the volume is peer-reviewed, published within the time parameters specified, and the research presented in the essay is new.  Anthologized collections are not eligible. 

The deadline for nominations is December 15, 2012.  Please contact Phil Pendleton at pependle@windstream.net for more information.