Essay Contest
The 2009 Essay Contest is closed. Please check back in September to see the list of 2009 winners and read the first-place essays. The topic for the 2010 Essay Contest will also be posted.
To foster the study and appreciation of Jane Austen, JASNA conducts an annual student Essay Contest, with support generously provided by the Sonia Raiziss Giop Charitable Foundation.
Students interested in the life and works of Jane Austen are encouraged to enter. The Essay Contest is open to students world-wide at the high school, college/university, and post-graduate levels of study. Entrants do not need to be members of JASNA. Students must be enrolled full-time or part-time in coursework during one or more semesters/quarters of the contest year. Home-schooled students at the high school level are also eligible. Part-time is defined for the college/university level as a minimum of six credit hours and for the post-graduate level as a minimum of three credit hours.
2009 Essay Contest
The topic for the 2009 Essay Contest:
Siblings abound in Jane Austen’s novels. Some siblings act as foils to each other; others are in competition; still others are mutually supportive and encouraging. Examine the importance of siblings in one or two Austen novels. Discuss how they function in the novel and how they embody larger themes. You may focus on one sibling relationship or you may compare relationships, either within a novel or between two novels.
The Submissions page includes important rules about format and submission of essays and a link to the official Essay Contest entry form. Entries must be e-mailed or postmarked by May 1, 2009.
Essay Contest Prizes
JASNA awards three prizes in each of three categories: High School, College/University, and Post-Graduate. (JASNA does not offer scholarships.)
First Place
- One year’s membership in JASNA for both the winner and his or her mentor
- Free registration and two nights’ lodging for JASNA’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Philadelphia or $250 [Note: AGM prize does not include transportation to Philadelphia.]
- Recognition at the AGM and on the JASNA web site
- Publication of the winning essay on JASNA’s web site
- One of Jane Austen’s novels
Second Place
- One year’s membership in JASNA for both the winner and his or her mentor
- Recognition at the AGM and on the JASNA web site
- One of Jane Austen’s novels
Third Place
- One year’s membership in JASNA for both the winner and his or her mentor
- Recognition at the AGM and on the JASNA web site
- One of Jane Austen’s novels
Questions? Contact Lynn Sherick at lynn.sherick@gmail.com. Please use “JASNA Essay Contest” in your subject line.