Each year the United States Postal Service presents two cash prizes for the best historical writing about the American post office. These are the Rita Lloyd Moroney Awards – $2000 presented to a faculty member, independent scholar, or public historian for a journal article, book chapter, or book; and $1000 to an undergraduate or graduate student for an journal article, book chapter, or conference paper.
Any topic in the history of the United States postal system from the colonial era to the present is eligible for consideration. Though submissions must be historical in character, they can draw on the methods of other disciplines such as geography, cultural studies, literature, communications, or economics. Comparative or international historical studies are eligible if the United States postal system is central to the discussion. The selections are made by an independent panel of academic scholars, chaired by Dr. Richard Kielbowicz at the University of Washington. Submissions to be considered for the 2011 prizes must be postmarked by December 1, 2010. Winners will be announced in April 2011.
The awards were established in 2006 to honor Rita Lloyd Moroney, who began conducting historical research for the Postmaster General in 1962 and served as Historian of the U.S. Postal Service from 1973 to 1991. To date, eight prizes have been awarded.