The commendation of the committee reads as follows:
"Helena Augusta: Mother of the Empire, the winner of this year's Heldt Prize for the BestBook in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Women’s and Gender Studies, is a meticulously researched study that forges new paths in the genre of biography. Hillner demonstrates how the limitations posed by the lack of reliable primary sources offers a guide for new questions, providing a methodological model for rethinking existing assumptions about biography as a genre and its subjects. The committee is excited to recognize the significant contributions this text makes to women’s and gender studies both methodologically and empirically. With its focus on the ancient world, it opens up a historical period that is woefully underexamined in Slavic Studies. This magnificent volume will have great impacts on scholarly agendas in numerous fields."
We congratulate Prof. Julia Hillner on her remarkable achievement!