HNOC, LHA Select “The Carceral City” to Receive 2024 Williams Prize
With powerful and evocative prose, author John K. Bardes boldly reinterprets relations between slavery and prison development in American history.
NEW ORLEANS (March 19, 2025) — The Historic New Orleans Collection (HNOC) and the Louisiana Historical Association (LHA) are proud to announce John K. Bardes’ The Carceral City: Slavery and the Making of Mass Incarceration in New Orleans, 1803–1930Opens in new tab (University of North Carolina Press, 2024) as the winner of the 2024 Kemper and Leila Williams Prize in Louisiana History.
Mustering tens of thousands of previously overlooked arrest and prison records, John K. Bardes demonstrates that, contrary to common opinion, enslaved and free people were jailed at astronomical rates in parts of the South. With powerful and evocative prose, Bardes boldly reinterprets relations between slavery and prison development in American history. Racialized policing and mass incarceration are among the gravest moral crises of our age, but they are not new: slavery, the prison, and race are deeply interwoven into the history of American governance.
John K. Bardes is assistant professor of history at Louisiana State University. His research interests include slavery and emancipation, policing, and incarceration in the U.S. South. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Carleton College and a PhD from Tulane University.
The paperback book, which retails for $34.95, is available for purchase at the Shop at The Collection located at 520 Royal Street in New Orleans. The book can be purchased online at shophnoc.com or by calling (504) 598-7147.
The Kemper and Leila Williams Prize, named for the founders of the Historic New Orleans Collection, is offered annually by HNOC and the LHA. Since its inception in 1974, the prize has recognized excellence in research and writing on Louisiana history. Recipients receive a cash award of $1,500 and a plaque, and are announced at the LHA’s annual meeting each year. The organization held its 67th annual meeting March 13–15, 2025 in Baton Rouge.
A list of past Williams Prize recipients and application information for next year’s prize are available on HNOC’s website. Eligible works must explore an aspect of Louisiana history and culture or place Louisiana subjects in a regional, national or international context. The deadline for 2025 Williams Prize submissions is January 9, 2026.
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About the Louisiana Historical Association
The Louisiana Historical Association was founded on April 11, 1889, for the purpose of collecting and disseminating historical information on Louisiana, a goal which remains the primary mission of the association. The LHA has attracted both academics and non-academic members over the years and strives to maintain an even balance between the two groups. Since 1960, the LHA has published the quarterly journal Louisiana History, which consistently ranked as one of the top state-level historical journals in the country.
About the Historic New Orleans Collection
Founded in 1966, the Historic New Orleans Collection is a museum, research center, and publisher dedicated to the study and preservation of the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South region. The publishing wing boasts a catalog of more than 50 books about Gulf South history, culture, art, and much more. For more information, visit www.hnoc.org, call (504) 523-4662, or follow HNOC on Facebook and Instagram.
Williams Prize
Awarded annually by HNOC and the Louisiana Historical Association, the Kemper and Leila Williams Prize in Louisiana History highlights excellence in research and writing on Louisiana history.
Purchase the Book
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