Associate Professor Elizabeth Hoiem has won the 2025 Justin G. Schiller Prize from The Bibliographical Society of America for her book, The Education of Things: Mechanical Literacy in British Children's Literature, 1762-1860 (University of Massachusetts Press). The prize, which recognizes the best bibliographical work on pre-1951 children's literature, includes a cash award of $3,000 and a year's membership in the Society. Hoiem will be honored at the annual meeting of The Bibliographical Society of America on January 24.
In her book, Hoiem examines the rising popularity during Britain's industrial revolution of children's moveable books and toys, which parents and teachers used to integrate observation and tinkering into lessons on reading and writing. These "mechanical" skillsets became essential literacies in an industrial economy. She also investigates the complex class politics behind the playful literature, toys, and learning aids created to teach reading alongside science, technology, and economics. The book was funded in part by a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities and a Friends of the Princeton University Library Research Grant.
The Schiller Prize committee noted, "The Education of Things breaks new ground in our understanding of the relationships between academic scientific theory, practical technological knowledge, class, and gender in the rising British Empire. Its publication comes at a time of heated debate over the appropriate role of technological education in current school curriculums."
"I am honored to receive this prize and thankful to the Bibliographical Society of America for their support," said Hoiem. "Working with iSchool students and faculty has challenged me to consider the practical implications of my work. I am delighted that the prize committee shares my conviction that the history of reading, science, and technical education for children has contemporary relevance."
In her research and teaching, Hoiem explores the history of children's literature and material culture in the context of learning and play, from early books and toys to contemporary digital pedagogy. She is currently visiting as an honorary fellow at the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science at the University of Leeds. She received the Judith Plotz Emerging Scholar Award for her article on 1830s radical texts for working children. Her essay on representations of slavery in children's books on manufacturing sugar received the 2021 Illinois Humanities Research Institute Prize for Best Faculty Research. Hoiem holds a PhD in English from Illinois and MA in literary and cultural studies from Carnegie Mellon University.