Julia Ideson Award
ENTRY INFORMATION
About the Award
The Julia Ideson Award recognizes research projects that contribute to the documentation of local and Texas history and culture. These projects must be completed using the archival resources of the Houston Public Library’s Houston History Research Center (HHRC). The award honors the memory of the Houston Public Library’s first director, Julia Bedford Ideson (1885-1945). The Julia Ideson Award is presented, along with the prize of $500.00, by the Friends of the Houston History Research Center at its annual meeting each October or the first general meeting in January of the new year.
Two Award Categories
The Julia Ideson Award is presented each year for one of two alternating categories that document local Houston and/or Texas history and culture. The first category is for a published book. The second category is for a scholarly and researched film or video presentation, website, published article, monograph, master's thesis, or doctoral dissertation. The award category for 2026 is for a published book (excluding doctoral dissertations). The award category for 2027 will be for a scholarly and researched film or video presentation, website, published article, monograph, master's thesis, or doctoral dissertation.
Eligibility for Consideration
The entry must:
- be a scholarly research project,
- be completed within the past five years (2021-2026),
- document local Houston and/or Texas history and culture, and
- significantly, but not exclusively, use the resources of the Houston History Research Center.
Submissions
Entries must be submitted in the name of the person(s) or organization responsible for executing the project. Submitting an entry constitutes agreement to these terms and serves as agreement that the Friends of the Houston History Research Center may publicize the award and accompanying details about the recipients. Any physical entries become the property of the HHRC. See complete instructions below.
Entry deadline is July 15, 2026.
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Send entries to: Friends of the Houston History Research CenterP.O. Box 27827 Houston, TX 77227-7827 |
For additional information: Anthony B. Cavender |
Judging
The winner will be determined by a panel of qualified historians and/or community leaders, independent of officers and members of the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Houston History Research Center. Each entry will be judged on its contribution to the community historical and cultural record, its quality, and the degree to which it demonstrates effective use of the resources of the Houston History Research Center.
Instructions for Submitting an Entry
Please provide the following information with each entry. Label with numbers as indicated below:
- Name, address, telephone number, and e-mail of the person submitting the entry/nomination
- Name, address, telephone number, and e-mail of the person(s)/organization responsible for the project, if different from the nominator.
- Briefly describe the entry.
- List the specific HHRC resources used and detail how the resources were used.
- Explain how the project contributes to a better understanding of local or Texas history/culture.
- Submit three copies of the entry.
Submission:
Entries must be submitted in the name of the person(s) or organization responsible for executing the project. Submitting an entry constitutes agreement to the terms of eligibility and also serves as agreement that the Friends of the Houston History Research Center may publicize the award and accompanying details about the recipient(s). Any physical entries become the property of the Houston History Research Center.
Send entries to:
Friends of the Houston History Research Center
P. O. Box 27827
Houston, TX 77227-7827
HISTORY OF JULIA IDESON AWARD RECIPIENTS & JUDGES
Previous Julia Ideson Award Recipients
2025: No Award
2024: No Award
2023: No Award
2022:Barrie Scardino Bradley, author of Improbable Metropolis: Houston's Architectural and Urban History (University of Texas Press, 2020)
2021: Sandra Lord and Debe Branning, co-authors of The Ghosts of Market Square Park (The History Press, 2020)
2020: No award
2019: No award
2018: Dr. Edward C. Breeden, PhD, author of Education, Politics and the Making of School Desegregation in Houston, Texas (Rice University doctoral dissertation, 2018)
2017: Tyina Steptoe, author of Houston Bound: Culture and Color in a Jim Crow City (University of California Press, 2015)
2016: Jim Bailey & Kimberly B. Lykins, Texas Foundation for the Arts, Post Oak Boulevard, A Texas Legacy, (2016)
2015: Barrie Scardino Bradley, author of Houston's Hermann Park: A Century of Community (Texas A & M University Press, 2014)
2014: No award
2013: Dr. Brian Behnken, author of Fighting Their Own Battles: Mexican Americans, African Americans, and the Struggle for Civil Rights in Texas (Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 2011)
2012: Michael Vance, HAM Slices, vol. 2: Vignettes of Houston History (Produced by Houston Arts and Media, 2012)
2011: Steven R. Strom, author of Houston Lost and Unbuilt (University of Texas Press, 2010)
2010: Suzanne Turner and Joanne Seale Wilson, co-authors of Houston's Silent Garden: Glenwood Cemetery, 1871-2009 (Texas A & M University Press, 2009)
2009: Michael R. Botson, Jr., author of Labor, Civil Rights, and the Hughes Tool Company (Texas A & M University Press, 2005)
2008: David Welling, author of Cinema Houston: From Nickelodeon to Megaplex (University of Texas Press, 2007)
Julia Ideson Award Judges
2022: Will Howard and Sandra Lord
2021: Nicolas Cox and Michael Botson
2020: No award
2019: Barbara Eaves, Sarah Jackson, and Edmund Pecht
2018: Mike Vance, Joe Holley, and Dr. Emilio Zamora
2017: Katherine Howe, Nicolas P. Cox, and David Thomas
2016:
2015: Barry A Greenlaw, Cheryll A. Cody, and David Bush
2014: Barry A. Greenlaw, Cheryll A. Cody, and John J. Germann
2013: Theresa Jach, Howard Bodner, and James Maroney
2012: Michael Botson, Teresa Tomkins-Walsh, Lisa Struthers, and Chris Drake
2011: John B. Boles, Michael R. Botson, and Doris Glasser
2010: Pat Bozeman, Virginia Bernhard, and Michael Bordelon
2009: Sarah Jackson, Mary Dix, and Louis Marchiafava
2008: Don Carleton, Lee Pecht, and Richard "Dick" Dickerson