The Center for History and Culture of Southeast Texas and the Upper Gulf Coast at Lamar University is pleased to announce the winners of its Summerlee Book Prize. The prize, which comes with a $1,000 cash award, is presented for the best book related to the history, culture, or creative activities of Southeast Texas and the Upper Gulf Coast. 

For 2019, two books actually shared the winner’s circle—Born to Serve: A History of Texas Southern University,by Merline Pitre; and Frontiers of Science: Imperialism and Natural Knowledge in the Gulf South Borderlands, 1500-1850, by Cameron B. Strang. The authors will divide the prize money.

An honorable mention was given to How We Came to Be, by Johnnie Bernhard.

“We received a number of outstanding submissions,” stated Judith Linsley, Director of the Center for History and Culture. “The judges had a difficult time deciding. It’s wonderful that so many good books are being written about this area.”
This is the second year that the Summerlee Book Prize has been awarded, with the aim of promoting scholarship, knowledge,and writing about the region. The prize was made possible by a generous grant from the Summerlee Foundation.