Cheryl Frank Memorial Prize 2026

The Cheryl Frank Memorial Prize is awarded annually for a book that constitutes, motivates or exemplifies the best and/or most innovative writing in or about the tradition of critical realism, published in the previous year. The winner (or representative) is invited to give the annual Cheryl Frank Memorial Lecture at the IACR Annual Conference 2027 or some other suitable venue. If the author wishes, the lecture will be considered for publication in the Journal of Critical Realism.

This year there were two prizes for Engaging with Critical Realism and Developing Critical Realism:

1. Engaging with Critical Realism – for books that present, apply, communicate, or otherwise engage with critical realism in accessible, innovative, and impactful ways.

The committee selected:  Ferdinand C. Mukumbang, Decolonizing Global Health: A Critical Realist Perspective (Routledge).

2. Developing Critical Realism – for books that make substantive theoretical, philosophical, or methodological contributions to the development of critical realism itself.

The committee selected: Douglas Porpora, The Question of Emergence: Sociology vs. Physics (Routledge).