Essay Contest
The 2008 Essay Contest is closed. Please check back in August to see the list of 2008 winners and read the first-place essays. The topic for the 2009 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 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 must be enrolled at least part-time in coursework during one or more semesters/quarters of the contest year. (Part-time is defined as a minimum of six credit hours for college undergraduates and three credit hours for graduate students.)
2008 Essay Contest
The 2008 Essay Contest refers to new film adaptations of four Jane Austen novels, which were broadcast on Masterpiece Theatre beginning in January 2008. They are also available on DVD for students who were not able to watch them on Masterpiece Theater. The new films are Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, and Mansfield Park. Information about the films and the complete broadcast schedule is provided on this link. Masterpiece Theatre appears on PBS stations in most markets. (Note: The Essay Contest topic refers only to the films that are listed. Other Austen novel adaptations were shown in 2008 on Masterpiece Theatre, but they are not included.)
Students are invited to watch the new films and submit an essay on the following topic:
A filmed version of a novel is necessarily an adaptation—an interpretation—of the book, in which dialogue, setting, plot elements, characters, and so forth may be changed or omitted. With reference to one of the following new Austen novel adaptations appearing on Masterpiece Theatre in 2008, discuss how such a change or omission affects element(s) or aspect(s) of the novel portrayed: Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, or Mansfield Park.
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 postmarked by May 15, 2008.
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 Chicago or $500 [Note: AGM prize does not include transportation to Chicago.]
- Recognition at the AGM and on the JASNA web site
- Publication of the winning essay on JASNA's web site
- Penguin edition of Jane Austen's novels and a DVD of one of the novel adaptations on Masterpiece Theatre
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
- Penguin edition of Jane Austen's novels and a DVD of one of the novel adaptations on Masterpiece Theatre
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
- Penguin edition of Jane Austen's novels and a DVD of one of the novel adaptations on Masterpiece Theatre
Questions? Contact Lynn Sherick at lynn.sherick@gmail.com. You must use "JASNA Essay Contest" in your subject line.