FREDERICK J. STRENG AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN
BUDDHIST-CHRISTIAN STUDIES

1. This book award will be called the “Frederick J. Streng Award for Excellence in Buddhist-Christian Studies.”
2. It is expected that the award will be given annually, according to the following criteria and nomination process
3. Criteria for nominating books and making the award shall be:
• The subject matter of the book should be inspired by and relevant to Buddhist-Christian relations, but subject matter is not narrowly limited to books on dialogue or to books that are half on Christianity and half on Buddhism.
• The scholarship must be original and the writing clear. The book must make an important contribution to issues relevant to the context of Buddhist-Christian dialogue.
• Books can be considered within five years of their publication date (i.e., the 2012 award must be for a book published in 2007 or later).
4. Nominations can be made by any member of the Society or by the publisher, using the online nomination form on the Society’s website (http://www.society-buddhist-christian-studies.org/), or a printed version of the form can be submitted by postal mail to the Society’s book review editor (who address is available on the Society homepage). The nomination must include a short essay explaining why this book should be considered for the prize. Self-nominations are not permitted. Publishers of books must be willing to supply review copies to members of the committee for evaluation in order for the book to be considered.
5. The award shall be made by a three-person committee consisting of members of the Society chosen by the Society’s board and approved at the annual business meeting of the Society. The initial committee (for the 2010 award) will be made up of three people, one of whom has a one-year term, another a two-year term, and the third a three-year term. Thereafter, committee members will be asked to serve a three year term. If one of the nominated books is written by a committee member, that person should be excused from serving on the committee for that year (without his or her tenure on this committee being extended by an extra year) and replaced by another member of the Society’s board.
6. The committee shall make a selection according to the following procedures:
7. Nominations received through November of any calendar year will be considered for the following year’s award.
8. The committee shall decide which nominations to evaluate by the end of every November, and attempt to secure books from the publishers as soon as possible
9. Committee members shall evaluate the review copies, and come to a consensus by no later than the end of April of the following year.
10. The award winning volume shall be reported to the President of the Society by May 1 of each year so that the award can be prepared and given at the next annual meeting of the Society.
11. A formal letter on SBCS letterhead will be sent to the author informing the author of the award and requesting his or her presence at the business meeting of the SBCS that fall.
12. The program chair will inform the AAR Program committee to include the name and book title in the business meeting section of the session in the AAR Program Book.
13. The book award committee chair will prepare a certificate of recognition for presentation to the author at the business meeting.
14. The winning volume will be announced initially on the Society’s website.
15. An announcement of the book award will be published in the fall issue of the SBCS newsletter.
16. A one page announcement will be published in Buddhist-Christian Studies the following year.
17. The committee, at its discretion, can retain books nominated from previous years for reconsideration, subject to the publication date guidelines (see III.c above).
18. The recipients (authors or editors) need not be members of the society.

Previous Streng Book Award Winners

Streng Award Nomination Form