Celebrating Young Collectors: Winners of the 2025 David Ruggles Prize Announced

Image above: Laurane Reine-Adelaïde

This initiative continues to highlight the passion, creativity, and dedication of a new generation of collectors. ILAB is proud to have supported the prize with a donation and warmly congratulates this year’s winners.

First Prize: Laurane Reine-Adelaïde – Martinique in Books and Memory

The $1,000 grand prize was awarded to Laurane Reine-Adelaïde for her moving collection focused on Martinique, her native island. Rich in materials relating to everyday life, from cooking to fashion, the collection reflects not only the island’s cultural traditions but also the collector’s personal journey of reconnecting with home while living in France. Her collection has not been easy to assemble. Confusion and quizzical looks have been standard, for example, when asking booksellers for relevant titles. But her diligence has paid off, and perhaps, too, a sense of homesickness.

As Reine-Adelaïde writes: “Every book, every object in my collection brings me closer to my roots. That’s the heart of my collection: to surround myself with the sounds, images, flavors, and knowledge of Martinique, so that I can feel more connected to my land—and to my people.”

The judges praised the mix of canonical and local sources and admired her perseverance in building such a collection despite the challenges of sourcing material. Her narrative, deeply personal and evocative, moved the judges deeply.

Second Prize: Anushmita Mohanty – Mapping Indian Childhoods

The $500 second prize went to Anushmita Mohanty for her extensive collection on children’s literature in India. Bringing together more than 200 titles in English, Hindi, and Bengali, the collection spans picture books, comics, and novels, tracing the evolution of Indian childhood reading from the post-Independence era to the present day.

"Such transnational circulation," Mohanty writes, "reveals how Indian childhood reading is shaped by a mix of indigenous and global narratives, popular culture, and publishing histories." From picture books to novels, through English and Hindi and Bengali, Mohanty's collection of more than 200 titles traces the evolution of this vast literary landscape through the country's post-Independence history. Bringing together overlooked ephemera, work in regional languages, and the products of small presses, the collection offers "an alternate history of Indian reading practices, one rooted not in elite English-language publishing alone but in translingual, regional, and grassroots circulations."

Third Prize: Kaveh Bahar – Death, Memory, and Meaning

The $250 third prize was awarded to Kaveh Bahar, a teenage collector whose remarkable collection explores themes of death and attachment. Inspired by his grandmother’s shelves, Bahar has assembled books and ephemera dating back to 1530, alongside funerary objects, hairwork jewelry, and even a Victorian mourning bodice.

Judges admired his deep curiosity and the connections he draws between objects and texts. His wide-ranging sourcing methods and thoughtful approach captivated the panel, with one judge exclaiming: “Oh my gosh, give me more of this.”

Judges and Supporters

This year’s jury brought together a diverse and accomplished panel: book artist and lecturer Islam Aly (Cairo), writer and podcaster Lauren Burke (Chicago), PhD candidate Angelina Coronado (Columbia University), Sara Powell, Assistant Curator at Harvard’s Houghton Library, and Bridgett Kathryn Johnson-Pride, Director of Public Services for Archives and Special Collections at the Houghton.

The organisers expressed their gratitude to the judges, sponsors, and all applicants who continue to make the prize such a success.

ILAB congratulates all three winners on their outstanding achievements. We look forward to following the journey of these collectors and to seeing the next round of submissions in 2026.