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The Doc Rowe Award

The Folklore Society seeks to encourage, promote and support the highest quality of publication in folklore across all media, not just traditional printed books.

As part of its remit to encourage the study of folklore, to help improve the standard of folklore publications in all media in Britain and Ireland, and to establish itself as an arbiter of excellence in the field, the Folklore Society has established the Doc Rowe Award for publications and broadcasts in media other than printed books.

Starting in 2025, our biennial Doc Rowe Award replaces and develops our previous ‘Non-Print Media Award’ (2014-2021).

The award covers (but is not restricted to) film, website, podcast, television/radio programmes, CD/DVD etc.

For the purposes of the award, ‘folklore studies’ are interpreted broadly, in line with the Society’s wider remit, to include all aspects of traditional and popular culture, narrative, beliefs, customs and folk arts, including studies with a literary, anthropological, linguistic, sociological or geographical bias. https://folklore-society.com/about/

The award is open to material on folklore having original and initial publication in the United Kingdom and Ireland in the two years to 31 May of the award year.

Rules

  • There will be three Judges appointed by the Folklore Society’s Council. The winning publication will be that which, in the opinion of the Judges, made the most distinguished contribution to folklore studies in the 2 years prior to 31 May of the award year.
  • The Award Convenor cannot be a judge.
  • Commercial reinterpretations of traditional material, e.g. new arrangements of traditional music, new tellings of traditional stories etc., are not eligible.
  • Submissions must be available for review by three judges and the Folklore Society itself. Where appropriate, sufficient hard copies for the judges and the Society library should be submitted. Password-protected online access to films etc. is acceptable. The Folklore Society encourages the lodging of an archivable copy of the submission to its library.
  • For serial/episodic material such as podcasts, radio/television programmes, entrants may submit up to four hours of material published within the eligibility period to represent the work as a whole, or a focused submission of a single episode/recording.
  • The Award will be presented at the Reception following our annual Katharine Briggs Lecture in November. The main prize will be the Award itself, but the winning author, or authors, will be presented with a cheque for £225. Where an author is unable to attend the Reception in person, a representative of the publishers of the winning entry, will be invited to attend.
  • Hard copies of publications submitted for the Award will not be returned, including any subsequently disqualified according to these Rules.
  • No publication by the Folklore Society, or produced in whole or in part by a member of the Society’s Council, may be considered for the Award. In the case of a series (podcast etc.), episodes featuring or including content by a member of the Society’s Council will not be eligible for consideration, but other episodes may still be. In case of any doubt, potential entrants are advised to seek clarification from the Convenor.
  • The Judges may withhold the Award if, in their opinion, no publication reaches the required standard.
  • The Judges’ decision is final.
  • The Society’s Council may amend these Rules as it sees fit in future years.

Submission procedure

The Award Convenor sends out a call for submissions prior to the closing date of 31 May, but unsolicited entries from either publishers or authors are also very welcome, as the Convenor’s mailing list can never be comprehensive.

If you are sending hard copies, please send Four copies of each title you are entering. The parcel should be marked ‘Doc Rowe Award’ and sent to:

The Folklore Society, 50 Fitzroy Street, London W1T 5BT

Where publications are published in late May, the entry form must be received in the office by 31 May and hard copies, if applicable, may be sent until the end of June. It is recommended that any hard copies of publications be sent either by Registered/Recorded Delivery, or by courier.

In the case of media not usually fixed in tangible form (e.g. websites), please provide a link to your entry, and post an archivable durable copy (CD/DVD or other appropriate format) to the address above for keeping in the Folklore Society’s Library & Archives.

Download the Entry Form