The Ashmead Award, honoring legendary book editor Larry Ashmead, is designed to nurture the career of a promising young editor in the field of book publishing, as an effort to recognize and continue the tradition of Larry’s long and honorable history of mentoring young editors and helping them develop their careers in publishing.

Awarded to one editor each year, The Ashmead Award will continue Larry's tradition of apprenticeship by sending each year’s winner to a recognized educational publishing venue. This year, the winner will attend the Yale Publishing Course, to be held July 21-26 in New Haven, and we will provide the winner with access to a distinguished advisory committee consisting of preeminent editors in the publishing community.

Read more about Larry's life and career in the New York Times.

The 2012 winner, Michael Szczerban, is now an editor at Scribner. The third Ashmead Award is scheduled to be awarded in June 2013.

TO APPLY: To nominate a candidate for the Ashmead Award, editors should write a letter on their letterhead to the Advisory Committee. If there is a bright young editor at your publishing house whose work thus far indicates that this person has a decided flair for book publishing, we want to know about him or her! In order to continue Larry's legacy of mentoring, this editor will, ideally, have approximately 4 to 5 years experience in publishing; the ideal candidate is a young assistant or associate editor who has begun to acquire a list but is still in need of mentoring from more experienced editors. Please tell us about books this editor may have acquired or edited, and what flair has impressed you. The nominee need not be your direct report. Send letters to info@theashmeadaward.com. Please put APPLICANT in the subject line. Applications are due June 3, 2013.

Tax deductible donations to the Ashmead Award may be sent to:
New York Community Trust
909 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Please make out checks to "Community Funds" and write "For The Ashmead Award" in the memo line.