MIT Press news

Two MIT Press books win 2020 PROSE Awards

We are pleased to announce that two of our books have been named category winners for the Association of American Publishers (AAP) 2020 PROSE Awards

From the AAP Announcement

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) unveiled 49 Subject Category Winners for the 2020 PROSE Awards honoring the best scholarly works published in 2019. These winners were selected by a panel of 19 judges from the 157 finalists previously identified from the more than 630 entries in this year’s PROSE Awards competition. The Subject Category Winners announced today demonstrate exceptional scholarship and have made a significant contribution to a field of study.

The MIT Press Winning Books

Music and the Performing Arts Category

Decomposed: The Political Ecology of Music, by Kyle Devine

Book Synopsis: Recorded music has always been a significant exploiter of both natural and human resources, and today its reliance on these resources is more problematic than ever before. Devine uncovers the hidden history of recorded music—what recordings are made of and what happens to them when they are disposed of.

PraiseKyle Devine brilliantly excavates the political ecologies of sound reproduction, moving from nineteenth-century chemical labs and shellac harvests to Thai vinyl record plants and the infrastructures of streaming media… A must-read for anyone interested in music or the materiality of media.

—Nicole Starosielski Associate Professor, NYU; author of The Undersea Network

Textbook/Humanities Category

On the Brink of Paradox: Highlights from the Intersection of Philosophy and Mathematics, by Agustín Rayo

Book Synopsis: An introduction to awe-inspiring issues at the intersection of philosophy and mathematics. This book explores ideas at the brink of paradox: infinities of different sizes, time travel, probability and measure theory, computability theory, and others.

PraiseAn intensely fun introduction to the fascinating boundary between mathematics and philosophy. The book will be welcomed by curious and mathematically agile readers, who will appreciate Rayo’s lucid prose, sense of humor, philosophical clarity, and, above all, enthusiasm for the subject.

Ted Sider, Distinguished Professor, Andrew W. Mellon Chair, Department of Philosophy, Rutgers University

Amy Brand, director for the MIT Press said, “I want to congratulate the winners of this year’s PROSE Awards and recognize the ten MIT Press books that were named finalists. Both Decomposed and On the Brink offer unique and compelling insights into their respective fields and reflect the overall mission of the MIT Press to push the boundaries of what a university press can be. We are honored to be among the other winners for this distinguished prize.”

The PROSE Awards annually recognize the best in professional and scholarly publishing by bringing attention to distinguished books, journals, and electronic content. Each year, publishers and authors are formally recognized for their commitment to pioneering works of research and for contributing to the conception, production, and design of landmark works in their fields. Judged by peer publishers, librarians, and medical professionals since 1976, the PROSE Awards are extraordinary for their breadth and depth.