The Edith Wharton Society is delighted to announce three prizes for 2023: the Elsa Nettels Prize for a Beginning Scholar, the Edith Wharton Society Award for Archival Research, and the Edith Wharton Society Undergraduate Research Prize. Below please find all calls for submissions. All submission materials should be sent via email by June 30, 2023 to current EWS President, Myrto Drizou, Bogaziçi University, Istanbul, myrto.drizou@boun.edu.tr.
The Elsa Nettels Prize for a Beginning Scholar
This award, formerly known as the “Edith Wharton Society Prize for a Beginning Scholar,” established in 2005, recognizes the best unpublished essay on Edith Wharton’s work by a beginning scholar, advanced graduate student, independent scholar, or faculty member who has held a full-time appointment for four or fewer years. All entries will be considered for publication in The Edith Wharton Review, published by Penn State University Press. The author of the prize-winning essay will receive an award of $250.
How to apply:
- Submissions should be 20-30 double-spaced pages long and follow the 9th edition MLA style, using endnotes rather than footnotes.
- Submissions should include two attached files: an anonymized MS Word version of your paper and a separate cover letter containing the applicant’s name, essay title, academic status, e-mail address, postal address, and the award name.
- Please use the subject line: “EWS Elsa Nettels Prize for a Beginning Scholar.”
- Submissions are due to myrto.drizou@boun.edu.tr by June 30, 2023.
The Edith Wharton Society Award for Archival Research
The archival award, in the amount of $500, enables a scholar to conduct research at one of the Edith Wharton archives at Wharton’s library at The Mount in Lenox, MA, the Wharton Collection at Yale University’s Beinecke Library, or the Wharton papers at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas.
Funds must be used for transportation, lodging, and other expenses related to archival research. Notification of the award will take place by August 15, 2023. The award can be used between August 15, 2023 and August 14, 2024. A brief report detailing some aspect(s) of the research (not intended to preempt publication in other scholarly venues) will be due to the EWS president by September 1, 2024 and will be published in the Edith Wharton Review.
How to apply:
- Submissions should include a proposal (of no more than two single-spaced pages) that describes the applicant’s overarching research project, its contribution to Wharton scholarship, the applicant’s scholarly preparation, and the relevance of the archive to the project’s completion.
- Also include two additional attachments: a CV and a separate cover letter containing your current affiliation, rank, and mailing address.
- Please use the subject line: “EWS Award for Archival Research.”
- Submissions are due to myrto.drizou@boun.edu.tr by June 30, 2023.
The Edith Wharton Society Undergraduate Research Prize
First offered in 2014, the undergraduate research prize is open to students at all undergraduate levels. Papers should be no more than fifteen pages long and can address Wharton’s works in any genre. The winning essay will be published on the EWS website, and the author will receive an award of $100.
How to apply:
- Please send an anonymized electronic submission as an email attachment in Microsoft Word, along with a separate attached cover letter containing your name, essay title, undergraduate institution, the name of your faculty mentor, email address (and perhaps an alternate email, if your email address is about to change), postal address, and the name of the award.
- Please use the subject line: “EWS Undergraduate Research Prize.”
- Submissions are due to myrto.drizou@boun.edu.tr by June 30, 2023.
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The Edith Wharton Society sees its commitment to Wharton’s writing as including financial support for Wharton scholarship, with two awards specifically for beginning scholars. We thank all in the Wharton society who have donated to these prizes over the years, many of whom have been award recipients; your support of this endeavor enables our generosity. If you are inclined to donate to support this year’s awards, a donation portal is linked here.
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