The results of the 2011 Adrian Van Sinderen Book Collecting Prize are in. Austin Shiner ’11 won the Senior Prize, which in addition to supreme bragging rights consists of a $1,000 check. The Sophomore Prize, a $750 check, went to Matthew Dernbach ’13. Second Prize, a $500 check, went to Thomas Burns. The prizewinners’ dinner was held Wednesday at Zinc.

The Prize was established in 1957 in memoriam of Adrian Van Sinderen 1910 and is awarded annually. According to the Prize’s website, collections are judged not by monetary value or quantity. Instead, participants choose a topic of interest and collect books relevant to it. Shiner’s collection focused on cookbooks, while Dernbach’s collection examined “the experiences of war.”

The deadline for this year’s contest was January 21, and submissions were examined before spring break. A submission needed to include a list of the collected books and a statement that outlined the guiding principle or topic of the collection. Previous winning entries have included “Chicano literature, books on bees and beekeeping, first editions of William Burroughs, books on costume, Sherlock Holmes, and the Asian-American experience.”

For aspiring book collectors, the prize’s organizers insist that paperbacks are only admissible “if there is evidence of some worthwhile thought and purpose.”

Correction: April 16, 2011

An earlier version of this article listed the Sophomore Prize as $700. The prize awarded to Mr. Dernbach was actually $750.