Submissions must meet the criteria outlined above and come directly from the author or publisher. 

1. If available in electronic form, please submit required materials through the online Zencey Prize Portal.

2. For physical books or magazine pieces, mail four copies to: 

3. All submissions, online or physical, require a cover letter (2-page max.) with: 

• Clear contact information, including name, phone, email and mailing address
• Brief, general overview of the submission, including a summary of how the piece uses the principles of ecological economics
• Confirmation of original publication date of the submission

The inaugural Eric Zencey Prize in Ecologicial Economics was awarded on December 7, 2020 to Bathsheba Demuth (Brown University) for her book Floating Coast: An Environmental History of the Bering Strait.

[Watch the award ceremony and readings by Bathsheba Demuth.]

Floating Coast is the first-ever comprehensive history of the Arctic land and waters between Russia, the U.S. and Canada, exploring the relationship between capitalism, communism, Arctic ecology, and indigenous peoples over 200 years.

“Floating Coast was the unanimous choice of our judges because it brings the core principles of Ecological Economics to life through an important, timely subject and vivid, compelling writing,” said Taylor Ricketts, Director of the Gund Institute for Environment. “This fine history of the Arctic, one of our most imperiled environments, is a perfect selection for the inaugural Zencey Prize.”

Demuth is an Assistant Professor of History & Environment and Society at Brown University and a Fellow of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, specializing in the United States and Russia, and in the history of energy and past climates. She has lived in and studied Arctic communities across Europe, Asia and North America.

“Eric Zencey was a model of how to bring complex, important environmental concerns to a wide audience,” said Bathsheba Demuth, an environmental historian who lived with indigenous people in the region, and drew from archival sources, while writing Floating Coast. “It is humbling and inspiring to be awarded this prize in his memory, and I hope to carry on his tradition.”

Runners up:

• A Finer Future: Creating an Economy in Service to Life by L. Hunter Lovins, Stewart Wallis, Anders Wijkman, and John Fullerton, investigates the gravity of global ecological economic challenges, while maintaining hope for the future.
• Ecological Footprint: Managing our Biocapacity Budget by Mathis Wackernagel and Bert Beyers, explores the ecological footprint, a metric used by the ecological economics community to measure the biological capacity of Earth.

As a writer, thinker, teacher, and public intellectual, Eric Zencey (1954-2019) worked to bring ecological economics – a system for understanding the political, economic, social, and environmental challenges facing our civilization – out of the academy. The Zencey Prize in Ecological Economics honors that work and encourages others to continue it.

Born in Delaware and holding a PhD in political philosophy and the history of science, Zencey made substantial contributions to understanding the biophysical foundations of the economy during his career at the University of Vermont and Washington University in St. Louis. He believed that infinite economic growth is impossible on a finite planet, because the laws of thermodynamics apply to economic systems.

Zencey is author of four books, including The Other Road to Serfdom and the Path to Sustainable Democracy (UPNE); Greening Vermont: Towards a Sustainable State (with Elizabeth Courtney); and Virgin Forest (U of Georgia Press), a collection of essays on history, ecology, and culture. His first book was the internationally best-selling novel and New York Times Notable Book of the Year, Panama. His writing has appeared in media outlets ranging from  The New York Times and the Chronicle of Higher Education to Adbusters.

Zencey has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Rockefeller-Bellagio Foundation, and the Bogliasco Foundation.

In Vermont and Missouri, Zencey has been a pioneer in the compilation of and advocacy for the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), a more comprehensive measure of economic, social, and environmental health than GDP. His efforts led directly to Vermont becoming one of the first states in the nation to adopt GPI measurement.

Zencey’s affiliations at UVM included the Gund Institute, the Political Science Dept., the Honors College, the Center for Research on Vermont, and the Center for Rural Studies. At Washington University, his appointments included teaching and research positions in the College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the Sam Fox School for Design and Visual Art. Zencey also served as chair of the online history department at SUNY Empire State College, and taught in the college’s international programs, chiefly in Prague.

Read Eric Zencey's obituary.

Read a Seven Days article on Eric Zencey and inaugural prize winner Bathsheba Demuth. 

The Zencey Prize will be awarded every other year to the best book or work of long-form journalism that illuminates current affairs while advancing public understanding of the principles of ecological economics. No academic journal articles will be accepted.

The winning author will visit UVM to receive the award, to give at least one public seminar and to engage with students. The winning author will also be named a Global Affiliate of the Gund Institute. The prize will not be awarded in years in which judges determine that no entry is sufficiently worthy.

“My sincere hope is that this Prize will help nudge our civilization onto a better path—one that arrives purposefully at an ecologically sustainable relationship between society and nature,” said Eric Zencey. “It’s important to me that the ideas we foster here in the Academy get to work in the world. I hope this prize will inspire future generations of environmental writers and ecological economists to communicate real-world solutions beyond ‘the Ivory Tower.’”

Diversity and inclusion are priorities of UVM and the Gund Institute, and we seek submissions from a broad range of journalists, authors, and scholars.

The Zencey Prize endowment was created by Eric’s family, friends and colleagues to honor his work, encourage others to continue it, and to support future generations of writers and scholars. Donate now to the Zencey Prize to help the fund grow.