Emory Elliott Memorial Prize

The Literary Encyclopedia is pleased to announce the Emory Elliott Memorial Prize for the best undergraduate student essays submitted for the academic year 2010-2011. The aim of the prize is to recognise and encourage the highest standards in literary critical writing. The prizes are named after Emory Elliott (1943-2009), the distinguished historian of American letters and one of the Founding Editors of The Literary Encyclopedia.

Essays will be judged by members of the Editorial Board of The Literary Encyclopedia who will consult with other distinguished scholars where necessary.

The author of the best essay will receive a prize of £300. The author of the second-best essay will receive £200; and the author of the third-best essay will receive £100. The prize-winning essays will be published prominently on the site for at least two years.

Length and Subject

Submissions may be critical or scholarly essays about any literary subject. They must have been submitted as part of the student’s usual assessment in their home institution. Essays must be submitted on the student’s behalf by the tutor who marked them, or an established member of the faculty, and must of outstanding quality in the view of the recommender.

Essays may be between 2000 and 5000 words in length. Candidates for the prize are advised that the judges will have no prejudice for or against longer or shorter essays, the significant criterion being that the essay should perform to the maximum within the space allowed to it.

Essays submitted for this prize should NOT be in the form of imaginative or creative writing, must be written in English, and must be about literature written originally in a language which is covered by the Encyclopedia. Their submission also needs to be supported by a member of faculty from the institution in which they were submitted.

Eligibility

  • Submission is open to all students at subscribing institutions and to all undergraduate students who are individual subscribers to The Literary Encyclopedia.
  • For communication and verification purposes, the authors of submitted essays must have a valid personal Literary Encyclopedia membership. Students who are studying at subscribing institutions can make a personal account without paying by entering their institutional email when they create the account on the following page: https://www.litencyc.com/register.php.
  • Students may only submit one essay in any year.

Submission Date and Submission Process

We anticipate that essays must be submitted by Wednesday 30th June 2011.

To submit an essay please

  1. obtain your tutor’s agreement to provide a reference.
  2. complete the entry form accessible by clicking here.
  3. email your essay to your tutor.

Your tutor will receive an email from our server asking him to complete the online reference form and attach your essay.

Evaluation Process

The result will be announced by an e-mail sent to all contestants, and to those who have submitted work on their students’ behalf, no later than 31st August 2011.

Click here to see the 2011 Prize-winning Essays.

Click here to see the 2010 Prize-winning Essays.

Click here to see the 2009 Prize-winning Essays.