As summer came to its end, we received the wonderful news that the UVA Center for Cultural Landscapes and the 2024 John Brinckerhoff Jackson Book Prize jurors composed of Kenneth Helpland, Sarah Lopez, and Beth Meyer, unanimously awarded Rosetta S. Elkin’s Landscapes of Retreat (K. Verlag, 2022) the 2024 JB Jackson Book Prize from the Landscape Studies Initiative at the University of Virginia. The jury, praised the book for its innovative contributions to landscape studies and its cultural landscape lessons for future climate-responsive imaginaries.
The J.B. Jackson Book Prize recognizes groundbreaking contributions to landscape studies, and it’s particularly noteworthy that Rosetta’s work stood out among esteemed competitors, including titles from University of Chicago Press, Princeton Architectural Press, and Duke University Press.
“In Landscapes of Retreat, Rosetta S. Elkin shares varied lessons from the multigenerational lived experiences of Indigenous communities in changing landscapes across several continents. In doing so, she offers a hopeful perspective on retreat as a mode of climate adaptation—a cultural practice of living with, not against, the more than human world. The J.B. Jackson Prize jury was unanimous in our selection; we offer the highest praise for this book and its author, a scholar of rare honesty, transparency, and vulnerability whose account of her research methods is as fascinating as the subject of her book.”
— Elizabeth Meyer, Merrill D. Peterson Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Virginia & Chair of the J.B. Jackson Prize Jury, UVA Center for Cultural Landscapes
We’re proud to have developed this remarkable book with Rosetta S. Elkin and are feeling truly honored for it to receive such amazing recognition.
The first edition of Landscapes of Retreat is out of stock but we've produced a second edition to be released in late January 2025. We will fulfill your pre-order as soon as the book becomes available again so please don't hesitate to get your copy now.
In addition to the 2022 print edition, we also created a digital counterpart of the publication, which you can find here.
As the 2024 J.B. Jackson awardee, Dr. Elkin will also give a book talk in Spring 2025 at the UVA School of Architecture in Charlottesville. Sign up for our newsletter to receive announcements when K. authors are giving public lectures or participating in other cultural events near you.