AFS Folk Arts and Material Culture Section Invites Submissions for the 2021 Warren E. Roberts Prize

The Folk Arts and Material Culture Section of the American Folklore Society invites submissions for its annual Warren E. Roberts Prize for Best Student Paper in Folk Art and Material Culture. The deadline for submissions is September 15, 2021.

The recipient of the prize will receive a $100 honorarium. Papers written by undergraduate or graduate students on any aspect of folk art or material culture (broadly construed) within the last two academic years are eligible.

The entrant must be a student in an academic program or have graduated within two academic years prior to the deadline for submission, but membership in AFS or the Folk Arts and Material Culture Section is not required. Both traditional papers and multimedia submissions are welcome. They should be scholarly, incorporating solid research and analysis.

Any accompanying photos, illustrations, or video clips must be clearly reproduced. Previously published works will not be considered. Members of the selection committee are ineligible. The section reserves the right not to award a prize in any given year. Only one submission is allowed per person.

Interested applicants must submit the following materials for consideration, using AFS’ online submission form.

• The paper including the list of scholarly references and, as relevant, accompanying illustrations and appendices.*

OR

• If a multimedia submission, create a single document within which are either links to any accompanying files or the files themselves embedded in the document.*

To ensure unbiased evaluation of your work, no identifying personal information should be included on the paper or multimedia project itself: Please include a single page at the beginning of the document with contact information, including name, address, phone number, e-mail, school and program, year in school or date of graduation, and title of the submission. For more information about this award, see the prize’s page.

*AFS requires all elements of the submission be incorporated in a single document.

Have questions about submitting? Send them to please contact the section’s convener, Martha C. Sims.