Section awards are presented during the APSA annual meeting awards ceremony. To learn more about any award listed, contact the award committee chair for the award.

All section 23. Political Communication awards to-date »

Doris Graber Outstanding Book Award

The Doris Graber Outstanding Book Award is given to the most outstanding book in the field of political communication that was published in the past decade (defined as the 10 years prior to the year of the award). Although books are technically eligible immediately upon publication, the committee considers impact over time as a major criterion in award decisions. In addition to candidates determined independently by the award committee, nominations may be made by a letter signed by at least three people who can attest to the book’s impact. (The book’s authors may be among the nominators.)  Deadline for nominations: March 1, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
Yungkang Yang (Chair)	Texas A&M	yunkangyang@tamu.edu
Stephanie Burkhalter	California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt	stephanie.burkhalter@humboldt.edu
Paul Lendway	Stanford University	lendway@stanford.edu
Andrew Trexler	University of Wisconsin-Madison	lendway@stanford.edu

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Paul Lazarsfeld Best Paper Award

The Paul Lazarsfeld Award recognizes the best paper on political communication presented at the previous year’s APSA annual meeting or Political Communication preconference. Papers nominated for the award must be the same version presented at the meeting. Deadline for nominations: March 1, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
Jasmine English (Chair)	Reed College	jasenglish@reed.edu
Mike Cowburn	Zeppelin University	mike.cowburn@zu.de
Fabian Neuner	Arizona State University	fabian.neuner@asu.edu
Ant Woodall	Northeastern University	a.woodall@northeastern.edu

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Timothy E. Cook Best Graduate Student Paper Award

The Timothy E. Cook Award recognizes the best paper on political communication presented by a graduate student at the previous year’s APSA annual meeting or Political Communication preconference. Papers nominated for the award must be the same version presented at the meeting. Deadline for nominations: March 1, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
Rex Deng (Chair)	Washington University in St. Louis	weiye.deng@wustl.edu
Allison Archer	University of Houston	amarcher3@uh.edu
David A. Beavers	Harvard University	dbeavers@g.harvard.edu
Sean Ewing	Florida Gulf Coast University	sewing@fgcu.edu

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Thomas E. Patterson Best Dissertation Award

The Thomas E. Patterson Best Dissertation Award recognizes the best dissertation completed in the field of political communication in the previous year. Nominations for the award should be made by the adviser of the dissertation or by a faculty member from the department in which the dissertation was completed. Nomination letters should explain the central argument advanced by the dissertation and specify its original contribution to the field. Letters should be no more than one page in length. Eligible dissertations must have been defended successfully in the calendar year preceding the award (e.g., candidates whose degrees were awarded in 2025 will be eligible for the 2026 dissertation award). The nominating letter and digital copies of the dissertation, abstract of the dissertation (500 words or less), and the nominee’s curriculum vita (with current address) should be sent to the chair of the dissertation award committee. The same dissertation may not be nominated in successive years. Deadline for nominations: March 1, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
Zirui Tony Yang (Chair)	Emory University	zirui.yang@emory.edu
Jessica Feezell	University of New Mexico	jfeezell@unm.edu
Josephine Lukito	University of Texas at Austin	jlukito@utexas.edu
Martha Stolze	Weizenbaum Institute	Martha.stolze@weizenbaum-institut.de

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Walter Lippmann Best Published Article Award

The Walter Lippmann Best Published Article Award recognizes the best article published in the field of political communication in the previous calendar year. Articles will be proposed by nomination or self-nomination. Deadline for nominations: March 1, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
Alessandro Nai (Chair)	University of Amsterdam	A.Nai@uva.nl
Leonard Memon	University of Texas at Austin	leonard@austin.utexas.edu
André Rodarte	University of Southern Denmark	anrod@sam.sdu.dk
Sierra Davis Thomander	Stanford University	sierrad@stanford.edu

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Murray Edelman Lifetime Distinguished Career Award

The Murray Edelman Distinguished Career Award recognizes a lifetime contribution to the study of Political Communication. The award is now given only in odd-numbered years. Deadline for nominations: TBA

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
TBA

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Excellence In Political Communication Mentoring Award

The Excellence in Political Communication Mentoring Award recognizes a scholar who has contributed significantly to the field of political communication by supporting the next generation of scholars through the advising of graduate students and other forms of mentorship. To be eligible, nominees must be at least ten years beyond the receipt of their terminal degree. In addition to candidates determined independently by the award committee, nominations may be made by a letter signed by at least three people who can attest to the mentor’s impact. Deadline for nominations: March 1, 2026

Award Committee

Name	Affiliation	Email
Emily Sydnor (Chair)	Syracuse University	eesydnor@syr.edu
Lisa Argyle	Purdue University	lpargyle@purdue.edu
Michael Chan	Chinese University of Hong Kong	mcmchan@cuhk.edu.hk
C. Daniel Myers	University of Minnesota	cdmyers@umn.edu