Cambridge author scoops 2012 Runciman Award

Cambridge University Press author Peter Thonemann has been named winner of the prestigious 2012 Runciman Award for his book, The Maeander Valley: A Historical Geography From Antiquity to Byzantium.

The award was announced at a special awards ceremony at the Hellenic Centre in London.

The Runciman Award is given annually to the best book published in English the previous year, which advances a broader understanding and appreciation of Hellenic culture or history.

Awarded by the Anglo-Hellenic League, which promotes cultural links and understanding between Britain and the Greek world, the £9,000 prize is donated by the National Bank of Greece through its Cultural Foundation, which also provides one of the judges.

Using an astonishing range of sources, from monastic archives to poetic texts, ancient land records to hagiographic biographies, The Maeander Valley reveals the complex interplay between the natural environment and human activities in the region.

Chairman of the judging panel, Dr John S. Taylor, Head of Classics at Tonbridge School called it, "a book to savour, a book to return to, and a worthy winner."

This year's shortlist was dominated by Cambridge University Press, with four out of the seven nominated titles published by the Press, including The Greeks and The New by D'Angour Armand, The History Written on the Classical Greek Body by Robin Osbourne and Polis and Revolution by Julia L. Shear.

The Award was established in memory of Sir Steven Runciman, one of the most important historians of Byzantium and the Medieval Mediterranean and a long-time Cambridge author whose books have collectively sold hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide.

Runciman was a master of English prose, so the Award's judges also take accessibility and good writing into account when choosing the shortlist and winner.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

The Maeander Valley: A Historical Geography From Antiquity to Byzantium by Peter Thonemann is out now by Cambridge University Press, price £65.

For further information, please contact Chris Burrows on +44(0)1223 326274 or email press@cambridge.org

About Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Dedicated to excellence, its purpose is to further the University's objective of advancing knowledge, education, learning, and research.

Its extensive peer-reviewed publishing lists comprise 45,000 titles covering academic research, professional development, over 300 research journals, school-level education, English language teaching and bible publishing.

Playing a leading role in today's international market place, Cambridge University Press has over 50 offices around the globe, and it distributes its products to nearly every country in the world.

For further information, please go to: www.cambridge.org

About the Runciman Award

The Runciman Award, named in honour of the late Sir Steven Runciman and generously sponsored by the National Bank of Greece, is awarded by the Anglo-Hellenic League to a book on Greece or some aspect of the Hellenic scene. Books published anywhere in the world are eligible for the Award.

The aim of the Award, first presented in 1986, is to stimulate interest in Greek history and culture from earliest times to the present, to reward and encourage good and accessible writing, of which Sir Steven's works are an example, and to promote wider knowledge and understanding of Greece's contribution to civilization and values.

About The Anglo-Hellenic League

The Anglo-Hellenic League was founded in 1913 and is dedicated to Anglo-Greek understanding and friendship. It is a registered charity and, in addition to the administration of the Runciman Award, the League also organises events and activities promoting its aims. It also publishes the bi-annual Anglo-Hellenic Review, a publication that informs all those with an interest in Greek affairs of Hellenic achievements both past and present. The office of the League is at the London Hellenic Centre.

For more details please contact Chrysanthy Monios:

Email: info@anglohellenicleague.org

Tel: +44 (0)20 7486 9410.