The 2002 CELJ Awards Ceremony

Conference of the Modern Language Association

New York, 27 December 2002

Welcome to the 2002 CELJ Awards Ceremony, in which we honor the runners-up and winners of the CELJ Awards in five categories: Best New Journal, the Phoenix Award for Outstanding Editorial Achievement, Best Journal Design, Best Special Issue, and the Distinguished Retiring Editor Award.

As the judges soon learned, it is unlikely that they would choose the best journal in the respective categories, but only a best. The runners-up and winners stand as models of excellence which we can study and emulate, and that recognition is the purpose of this contest. The winners do not represent excellence exclusively or comprehensively. Dozens of journals submitted to the contest attested to the high standards upheld throughout our profession, and the judges had to make very tough decisions to choose from so many entries showing great merit.

Let me begin by extending our thanks to the judges for their hard work, fairness, good humor, and punctuality in sorting through a great deal of material in a short time: I'll name the fifteen judges in alphabetical order, with their journals or affiliations:

  • Carolyn Allen, formerly with Signs
  • Wayne C. Booth, The University of Chicago
  • Paul Bové, boundary 2
  • Robert Campbell, formerly with Journal of Canadian Studies
  • Cathy Davidson, formerly with American Literature
  • Connie Eble, American Speech
  • Amy Grey, The University of Idaho Press
  • Jennifer Holberg, Pedagogy
  • David Johnson, New Centennial Review
  • Christopher Kleinhenz, Dante Studies
  • Brian McHale, Poetics Today
  • Erika Munk, Theater
  • Jonathan Rose, Book History
  • Gloriana St. Claire, portal
  • Jill Shimabukuro, The University of Chicago Press

Many thanks to the judges' dedication. . . .

Best New Journal Runner-up

As the runner-up in the category of Best New Journal, the judges selected a journal that stakes its claim to a clearly defined area of study, in need of a new forum of exchange. The runner-up for Best New Journal is the Journal of Language, Identity, and Education co-edited by Thomas Ricento and Terence Wiley, and published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.