2026 George Washington Prize Winner Announced

Richard Bell’s book “The American Revolution and the Fate of the World” won the award, which is given annually by Washington College, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and George Washington’s Mount Vernon.

Washington College students and Starr Center leaders Adam Goodheart (left) and Victoria Barnett-Woods (second from right) pose with 2026 George Washington Prize winner Richard Bell.

The $50,000 George Washington Prize is one of the nation’s largest and most notable literary awards. Each year since the Prize was created in 2005, an independent jury has evaluated 50 to 100 books published in the previous year that explore the history of the American founding era.   

Adam Goodheart, Hodson Trust-Griswold Director of the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, serves on the jury and shared his thoughts about the winning book, Richard Bell’s The American Revolution and the Fate of the World.  

“Richard Bell’s book is among the most original, and compelling histories of the Revolution that I’ve ever read,” Goodheart said. "Readers who think they already understand the conflict — whether as the traditional series of battles from Lexington to Yorktown, or even as a civil war between rival groups of Americans — will be surprised by this account, which frames it as a true world war with repercussions in almost every corner of the globe. Its characters include South Asian princes, Irish rebels, and enslaved workers in the Caribbean sugar islands.” 

The George Washington Prize winner was announced at a gala dinner in New York City on October 5, and six Washington College students attended the event, all of them Quill and Compass Gilder Lehrman Scholars. 
 
The Gilder Lehrman Institute for American History inspires history education by guiding teachers, energizing students, and conducting research that supports engaging learning opportunities and partnerships with high school students. The Quill and Compass–Gilder Lehrman Scholarship Program at Washington College awards up to 5 scholarships of at least $34,500 per student annually for a total of at least $138,000 over their four years attending the college. 
 
Quill and Compass scholars are a unique group of students with an interest in history, civics, political science, and the humanities who not only receive scholarships but are also invited to participate in experiential learning opportunities, day trips to historic sites in the region, and a spring break trip exploring connections to trans-Atlantic history. 
 
Moriah Cearley '30, Willow Weaverling '30, and Valentina Sosa '30 presented three of the authors at the gala. Together with Alex Almazan '29, Hongrun Zhu '30, and Katherine Pedulla '29, they explored New York City's revolutionary history before the event on a walking tour around Bowling Green led by the Starr Center's Associate Director of Experiential Learning and Programming Victoria Barnett-Woods, as well as attending the musical Hamilton on Broadway. 
 
"The Quill and Compass-Gilder Lehrman Scholarship program is so much more than a scholarship. It is a community of learners who believe in the power of the past; we believe that when we approach our shared issues holistically through the lenses of history, political science, civic engagement, and education, we do so with more nuance and care,” Barnett-Woods said. “The partnership with Gilder Lehrman strengthens these bonds over our institutions' shared respect for history, as we also prepare our students for the future. We are so excited about working with the Gilder Lehrman Institute and the wonderful benefits it will have for Washington College students."   
 
Read more about all five books named finalists for the 2026 George Washington Prize in this earlier story.