The Foodways Section of the American Folklore Society invites submissions for the Sue Samuelson Award for best student paper on food and foodways. Papers should be based on original fieldwork or research and utilize current folkloric approaches to analysis and interpretation.
The prize includes $200 (USD), and publication in the foodways journal Digest. Winners may apply for a travel stipend (of up to $300) to attend the upcoming American Folklore Society conference, provided they are presenting the winning paper or another foodways paper. There is no entrance fee and the contest is open to undergraduate and graduate students.
To Enter:
- Save your original, unpublished essay (from 1,500 to 9,000 words) as a Word document. Include the essay title, your full name, postal address, phone number, and e-mail address.
- Submit your application using this form.
- All entries must be received by March 15.
- Entries will be judged according to the following criteria: Sensitivity to the people and culture being described, depth of analysis into the food tradition, ability to engage the reader, and quality of writing.
- Supporting photos (in .jpg or .gif format) are welcome. Please compress image files before sending.
- The journal Digest reserves first-time Worldwide Electronic rights for winning submissions and the right to reprint the paper in a future publication. The writer may republish the unedited submission as desired six months after initial publication in Digest.
- Winners will be notified by e-mail in March.
- Please direct questions about the award to Claire Schmidt at [email protected], but make your submission through the official AFS section prize application form at: https://americanfolkloresociety.org/prize-application-form/
Contest Terms:
Submissions should be previously unpublished, either in print or on the Web. Decisions of the judges are final. The Foodways Section is not responsible for late, lost, incomplete, or illegible e-mail or for any computer-related, online, or technical malfunctions that may occur in the submission process. Submissions are considered void if illegible, incomplete, damaged, irregular, altered, counterfeit, produced in error, or obtained through fraud or theft. The winner will be paid by check. Federal, state, and local taxes are the sole responsibility of the contest winners.