Eligibility criteriaThe competition is open to postdoctoral scholars of not more than two years’ standing on 31st December, 2014, and to undergraduate and graduate students registered as such on that date. Only one entry may be submitted per entrant per year.
Scope and subject matterEssays submitted, which should be based on original research in any discipline in the humanities or social sciences, may be on any aspect of the history of travel, exploration and cultural encounter or their effects, in the tradition of the work of the Hakluyt Society. For a conspectus of the Society’s history, aims and publications, visit www.hakluyt.com .
Essays should be in English (except for such citations in languages other than English as may appear in footnotes or endnotes) and between 6,000 and 8,000 words in length (including notes, excluding bibliography). Illustrations, diagrams and tables essential to the text fall outside the word count. Submissions should be unpublished, and not currently in press, in production or under review elsewhere. Authors may wish to consult the Society’s style sheet, which is also the Journal’s style sheet, at http://www.hakluyt.com/authors_info.htm .
Submission procedures and deadlineEssays should be submitted as email attachments in Word.doc format to Dr Surekha Davies, Chair of the Essay Prize Committee, at surekha.davies@gmail.com and to Richard Bateman, Administrator of the Hakluyt Society, at office@hakluyt.com by 1 November 2014. The entrant’s name, address (including preferred email address), institutional affiliation (if any, with date of admission), and degrees (if any, with dates of conferment) should appear within the body of the email, together with a note of the title of the submitted essay. The subject line of the email should include the words ‘HAKLUYT SOCIETY ESSAY PRIZE’ and the author’s name. By submitting an essay, an entrant certifies that it is the entrant’s own original work.
Selection procedureThe Prize Committee encourages innovative submissions that make an important contribution to knowledge, or a critical or methodological contribution to scholarship. The Committee and selected reviewers will pay attention to the analytical rigour, originality, wider significance, depth and scope of the work, as well as to style and presentation. The Prize Committee comprises selected academic faculty from among the Hakluyt Society's Council.
The Prize Committee reserves the right not to award a prize, if no submission is judged to be of sufficient merit. The Committee’s decision will be announced in April 2015. For further information regarding the Hakluyt Society, please visit www.hakluyt.com.
