Inside the Penn Libraries Book Prize in Sustainability

Alexa Pearce is the Gershwind and Bennet Family Associate Vice Provost for Collections and Scholarly Communications at Penn Libraries. She spoke with Climate Week Intern Bridgette Wells about the Penn Libraries Book Prize in Sustainability and the 2026 Reception and Ceremony, to be held at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, October 7. 

Pearce oversees a $30 million collections budget, leads community and academic engagement, helps steward the Libraries’ world-renowned collection of 9.8 million print and electronic volumes, and has been closely involved with the book prize. As Climate Week 2026 approaches, Pearce shared that Penn Libraries, “love being partnered with Penn Climate and want to contribute to that growth of community and connection,” for people who are interested in learning about climate and the impacts individuals have on our surroundings. 

Pearce explained that the Book Prize in Sustainability started in 2024 from the generosity of the Lynn Family. It's an annual award of $8,000 to books that significantly advance public understanding of environmental sustainability and inspire meaningful action. According to Pearce, the prize’s purpose is “to deepen the broad public understanding of the issues related to environmental sustainability and to highlight contributions in the form of books.” She emphasized that while the prize-winning books are always “credible and well researched,” they “do not need to only be in a scholarly or research realm.” The Libraries want the books “to be readable and accessible and help with empowerment and the people who read the books” to “feel like there is something they can do.”

Each year, the winner of the Penn Libraries Book Prize in Sustainability is selected by a jury of six people who have academic appointments at different universities or are working in sustainability at a variety of firms, corporations, or nonprofits. Pearce explained that the jury has “a multifaceted perspective” on environmental and climate issues and “conversations that have been really rich and engaging” while selecting their shortlist and ultimate winner. Through constructive dialogue and discussion, the jury searches for motivating books focused on climate topics that reach large audiences.

The 2026 winner of the Book Prize is No New Things: A Radically Simple 30-Day Guide to Saving Money, the Planet, and Your Sanity by Ashlee Piper. Following the Climate Week theme of ‘Empowerment and Action,’ Pearce hopes students and faculty read the winning book and participate in the Penn Libraries’ October 7 event. She states that this is “an engaging event for the Penn community” where people should “come and ask questions, connect with the author, and with other people who are also interested in this issue.” Climate Week organizers are looking forward to welcoming Ashlee Piper to Penn and having empowering conversations about regaining control of “conditioned consumerism.”