The Richard F. Fenno, Jr. Prize is awarded to the best book in legislative studies published in the previous year.
In the tradition of Professor Fenno’s work, this prize is designed to honor work that is both theoretically and empirically strong. Moreover, this prize is dedicated to encouraging scholars to pursue new and different avenues of research in order to find answers to previously unexplored questions about the nature of politics.
Nominations must have the previous calendar year copyright date, and a copy of the book must be sent to each member of the selection committee. Deadline for submission is March 1, 2024.
Note that, unlike most of the other LSS prize committees, the Fenno Prize Committee needs to receive nominated books by snail mail and directly from authors or publishers.
2024 Selection Committee:
LaGina Gause (Chair), University of California, San Diego | lgause@ucsd.edu |
Jose Cheibub, University of Pittsburgh | cheibub@pitt.edu |
Royce Carroll, University of Essex | roycecarroll@gmail.com |
2023 Winner
LaGina Gause (University of California, San Diego). The Advantage of Disadvantage: Costly Protest and Political Representation for Marginalized Groups. (Cambridge University Press, 2022).
2023 Selection Committee:
Christian Dyogi Phillips (Chair), University of Southern California | cdphilli@usc.edu | Mailing address:4445 Yellowstone St. Los Angeles, Ca 90032 |
Periloux Peay, George State University | ppeay@gsu.edu | Mailing Address:Georgia State University, Department of Political Science38 Peachtree Center Avenue Langdale Hall Atlanta, GA 30303 |
Kristin Kanthak, University of Pittsburgh | kanthak@pitt.edu | Mailing Address:University of Pittsburgh, Department of Political Science4600 WW Posvar Hall
Pittsburgh, PA 15260 |
2022 Winner
Christian Dyogi Phillips (University of Southern California). Nowhere to Run: Race, Gender, and Immigration in American Elections. (Oxford University Press, 2021)
2022 Selection Committee:
Beth Reingold (Chair), Emory University | polbr@emory.edu |
Mailing address:
Emory University
Department of Political Science
327 Tarbutton Hall
1555 Dickey Drive
Atlanta, GA 30322
|
Christopher Stout | Christopher.Stout@oregonstate.edu | Mailing address: Oregon State University 300 Bexell Hall 2251 SW Campus Way Corvallis, OR 97331 |
Kirsten Widner | kwidner1@utk.edu |
Mailing address: University of Tennessee Department of Political Science 1001 McClung Tower 1701 Volunteer Blvd Knoxville, TN 37996 |
2021 Winners
Beth Reingold (Emory University), Kerry L. Haynie (Duke University), and Kirsten Widner (University of Tennessee) for Race, Gender, & Political Representation: Toward A More Intersectional Approach (Oxford University, 2020).
2021 Selection Committee:
Bryan D. Jones, University of Texas, Austin | bdjones@austin.utexas.edu | Mailing address: 2017 Emma Long Street Austin, TX 78723 |
Sean M. Theriault, University of Texas, Austin | seant@austin.utexas.edu | Mailing address: 6316 Pickens Street Houston, TX 78701 |
Michelle Whyman, Florida State University | mwhyman@fsu.edu | Mailing address:520 East Call Street Apt# 4 Tallahassee, FL 32301 |
2020 Winners
Bryan D. Jones (University of Texas, Austin), Sean M. Theriault (University of Texas, Austin), and Michelle Whyman (Florida State University) for The Great Broadening: How the Vast Expansion of the Policymaking Agenda Transformed American Politics (University of Chicago Press, 2019).
2020 Selection Committee:
C. Lawrence Evans (Chair) College of William & Mary | clevan@wm.edu | Mailing address: Dept. of Government, P. O. Box 8795, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795 |
Pamela Ban, University of California San Diego | pmban@ucsd.edu | Mailing address: Department of Political Science University of California San Diego 9500 Gilman Dr. #0521 La Jolla, CA 92093 |
Christopher Kam , University of British Columbia | chris.kam@ubc.ca | Mailing address: Department of Political Science University of British Columbia Vancouver Campus C425 1866 Main Mall Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z1 |
2019 Winner: C. Lawrence Evans, College of William & Mary, for The Whips: Building Party Coalitions in Congress (University of Michigan Press 2018)
2019 Selection Committee:
Sarah Binder (Chair), George Washington University and the Brookings Institution | binder@gwu.edu | Mailing address: Department of Political Science 440 Monroe Hall George Washington University 2115 G. St NW Washington DC 20052 |
David Parker, University of Montana | dparker@montana.edu | Mailing address: Department of Political Science P.O. Box 172240 2-139 Wilson Hall Montana State University Bozeman Bozeman, MT 59717 |
Michael Minta, University of Minnesota | mdminta@umn.edu | Department of Political Science University of Minnesota 1414 Social Sciences Building 267 19th Ave S Minneapolis, MN 55455 |
2018 Winner
Sarah A. Binder, George Washington University and the Brookings Institution, and Mark Spindel, Potomacriverfund.com, for The Myth of Independence: How Congress Governs the Federal Reserve (Princeton University Press, 2017)
Selection Committee:
Douglas Kriner, Penn State University
Rebecca Thorpe, University of Washington
Bill Bianco, Indiana University
2017 Winner
Douglas L. Kriner (Boston University) and Eric Schickler (University of California, Berkeley) for Investigating the President: Congressional Checks on Presidential Power (Princeton University Press, 2016).
Selection committee:
Nancy Martorano Miller, University of Dayton.
2016 Winner
Sven-Oliver Proksch and Jonathan B. Slapin. The Politics of Parliamentary Debate: Parties, Rebels and Representation (Cambridge University Press, 2015).
Selection Committee:
Craig Volden, University of Virginia
Leslie Schwindt-Bayer, Rice University
Andrew Taylor, North Carolina State University
2015 Winner
Legislative Effectiveness in the U.S. Congress by Craig Volden, University of Virginia, and Alan E. Wiseman, Vanderbilt University
Selection Committee:
Justin Grimmer, Stanford University
Belinda Davis, Louisiana State University
Alejandro Bonvecchi, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella
2014 Winner
Representational Style in Congress: What Legislators Say and Why It Matters by Justin Grimmer, Stanford. Published by Cambridge University Press.
Selection Committee:
Lynda Powell, RochesterJustin Grimmer, Stanford University
Jonathan Slapin, University of Houston
Dan Butler, Washington University in St. Louis
2013 Winner
The Influence of Campaign Contributions in State Legislatures by Lynda Powell, University of Rochester. Published by University of Michigan Press.
Selection Committee:
Lanny Martin Rice University
Michael Minta, University of Missouri
Bruce Oppenheimer, Vanderbilt University
2012 Winner
Parliaments and Coalitions: The Role of Legislative Institutions in Multiparty Governance by Lanny Martin, Rice University, and Georg Vanberg, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Published by Oxford University Press.
Selection Committee:
Gregory Koger (chair), University of Miami
Brian F. Crisp, Washington University in St. Louis
Cherie Maestas, Florida State University
2011 Winner
Filibustering: A Political History of Obstruction in the House and Senate by Gregory Koger, University of Miami. Published by University of Chicago Press.
Selection Committee:
Frances Lee (chair), University of Maryland
Georg Vanberg, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
Lynda Powell, University of Rochester
2010 Winner
Beyond Ideology: Politics, Principles, and Partisanship in the U.S. Senate by Frances Lee, University of Maryland, College Park. Published by University of Chicago Press.
Selection Committee:
Damon M. Cann (chair), Utah State University
Linda L. Fowler, Dartmouth College
C. Lawrence Evans, College of William and Mary
2009 Winner
Sharing the Wealth: Member Contributions and the Exchange Theory of Party Influence in the U.S. House of Representatives by Damon M. Cann, Utah State University. Published by SUNY Press.
Selection Committee:
Kenneth A. Shepsle (chair), Harvard University
Sarah Binder, George Washington University
Simon Hix, London School of Economics and Political Science
2008 Winner
Democratic Politics in the European Parliament by Simon Hix, Abdul Noury, and Gerard Roland. Published by Cambridge University Press.
Selection Committee:
Gregory Wawro (chair), Columbia University
Bryan D. Jones, University of Washington, Seattle
Barbara Sinclair, University of California, Los Angeles
2007 Winner
Filibuster: Obstruction and Lawmaking in the U.S. Senate by Gregory Wawro, Columbia University, and Eric Schickler, University of California, Berkeley. Published by Princeton University Press.
Selection Committee:
Tracy Sulkin (chair), University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne
Burdett Loomis, University of Kansas
Thomas Remington, Emory University
2006 Winner
Issue Politics in Congress by Tracy Sulkin, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne. Published by Cambridge University Press.
Selection Committee:
Diana Evans (chair), Yale University
Andrew J. Taylor, North Carolina State University
William T. Bianco, Pennsylvania State University
2005 Winner
Greasing the Wheels: Using Pork Barrel Projects to Build Majority Coalitions in Congress by Diana Evans, Trinity College. Published by Cambridge University Press.
Selection Committee:
Sarah Binder (chair), George Washington University
Scott Adler, University of Colorado
Gary Cox, University of California – San Diego
2004 Winner
Stalemate: Causes and Consequences of Legislative Gridlock by Sarah Binder, George Washington University. Published by Brookings Institution Press.
Selection Committee:
Patricia A. Hurley (chair), Texas A&M University
Charles Shipan, University of Iowa
Christopher J. Deering, George Washington University
2003 Winner
Deliberate Discretion?: The Institutional Foundations of Bureaucratic Autonomy by John Huber, Columbia University, and Charles Shipan, University of Iowa. Published by Cambridge University Press.
Selection Committee:
Eric Schickler (chair)
Scott Mainwaring
Katherine Tate
2002 Winner
Disjointed Pluralism: Institutional Innovation and the Development of the U.S. Congress by Eric Schickler, University of California – Berkeley. Published by Princeton University Press.
Selection Committee:
Charles M. Cameron (chair)
Roger H. Davidson
Elaine K. Swift
2001 Winner
Veto Bargaining: Presidents and the Politics of Negative Power by Charles M. Cameron, Columbia University. Published by Cambridge University Press.
Selection Committee:
David Canon (chair), University of Wisconsin at Madison
Gary Cox, University of California at San Diego
Barbara Sinclair, University of California at Los Angeles
2000 Winner
Race, Redistricting, and Representation: The Unintended Consequences of Black Majority Districts by David T. Canon, University of Wisconsin at Madison. Published by University of Chicago Press.
Selection Committee:
Keith Krehbiel (chair), Stanford University
Christine DeGregorio, American University
Larry Dodd, University of Florida
1999 Winner
Pivotal Politics: A Theory of U.S. Lawmaking by Keith Krehbiel, Stanford University. Published by University of Chicago Press.
Selection Committee:
David King (chair), Harvard University
Jon Bond, Texas A&M University
Jim Garand, Louisiana State University
1998 Winner
Turf Wars: How Congressional Committees Claim Jurisdiction by David C. King, Harvard University. Published by University of Chicago Press.
Selection Committee:
**Rick Hall (chair), University of Michigan
Jeffrey Talbert, University of Kentucky at Lexington
Garry Young, University of Missouri at Columbia
**recused himself from the selection process
1997 Winner
Participation in Congress by Richard L. Hall, University of Michigan. Published by Yale University Press.
Selection Committee:
Elisabeth Theiss-Morse (chair), University of Nebraska at Lincoln
David Canon, University of Wisconsin at Madison
Wendy J. Schiller, Brown University
1996 Winner
Congress as Public Enemy by John Hibbing and Elizabeth Theiss-Morse, University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Published by Cambridge University Press.
Selection Committee:
Bernard Grofman
Susan Hammond
Lawrence Evans
1995 Winner
Quiet Revolution in the South by Chandler Davidson, Rice University, and Bernard Grofman, University of California-Irvine. Published by Princeton University Press.
Selection Committee:
Gary W. Cox
Bruce Oppenheimer
Sue Thomas
1994 Winner
Legislative Leviathan: Party Government in the House by Gary Cox and Mathew McCubbins, University of California-San Diego. Published by University of California Press.
Selection Committee:
Frank J. Sorauf (chair)
Brian D. Humes
Charles Stewart III
1993 Winner
Inside Campaign Finance by Frank Sorauf, University of Minnesota. Published by Yale University Press.
Selection Committee:
Keith Krehbiel (chair)
Christopher Deering
Burdett A. Loomis
1992 Winner
Information and Legislative Organization by Keith Krehbiel, Stanford University. Published by University of Michigan Press.
Selection Committee:
R. Douglas Arnold (chair)
Bruce Cain
Peverill Squire
1991 Winner
The Logic of Congressional Action by R. Douglas Arnold, Princeton University. Published by Yale University Press.
Selection Committee:
Barbara Sinclair (Chair)
Richard Hall
James Kuklinski
1990 Winner
The Transformation of the U.S. Senate by Barbara Sinclair, University of California-Riverside. Published by Johns Hopkins University Press.
Selection Committee:
Morris Fiorina (Chair)
Gerhard Loewenberg
Suzanne Parker
1989 Winner
Critical Elections and National Policymaking by David Brady. Published by Stanford University Press.
Selection Committee:
Demetrios Caraley (Chair)
Nancy Zingale
Gary King
1988 Winner
The Personal Vote: Constituency Service and Electoral Independence by Bruce Cain, John Ferejohn, and Morris Fiorina. Published by Harvard University Press.
Selection Committee:
Diana Evans (Chair)
Alan Kornberg
Stephen Frantzich
1987 Winner
Selection Committee:
Randall Ripley (Chair)
Barbara Hinckley
Leroy Rieselbach
No award given
1986 Winner
The Handbook of Legislative Research by Gerhard Loewenberg, Samuel C. Patterson, and Malcolm E. Jewell. Published by Harvard University Press.
Selection Committee:
L. Sandy Maisel (chair)
Charles Bullock
Charles Jones