A book by Associate Professor Elizabeth Hoiem, The Education of Things: Mechanical Literacy in British Children's Literature, 1762-1860, has been named a finalist for the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing (SHARP) Book History Book Prize. The prize, which recognizes the best book published "on any aspect of the history or present conditions of authorship, reading, or publishing," includes a cash award of $1,250. The winner of the Book Prize will be announced at the SHARP Annual General Meeting on July 10 in Rochester, New York.
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. Hoeim also investigates the complex class politics behind the playful literature, toys, and learning aids created to teach reading alongside science, technology, and economics.
Earlier this year, Education of Things was awarded the 2025 Justin G. Schiller Prize from The Bibliographical Society of America. The book, published by the University of Massachusetts Press, was funded in part by a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities and a Friends of the Princeton University Library Research Grant.
Hoiem's teaching and research 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. Hoiem holds a PhD in English from Illinois and MA in literary and cultural studies from Carnegie Mellon University.