The Folklore Society President’s Prize
The President’s Prizes for Outstanding Undergraduate and Post-graduate Work in Folklore and Folkloristics
The Folklore Society President’s Prize is intended to encourage the academic study of folklore and folkloristics in universities and other institutions of higher and further education in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
The President’s Prize for an undergraduate essay has been awarded since 1994, and we are grateful to past-President Prof. John Widdowson for his generous contribution to the prize fund each year.
Starting in 2025, we established an additional President’s Prize for Post-graduate work so there are now TWO annual awards under the title ‘The President’s Prize’.
- One for outstanding undergraduate work in folklore and folkloristics. The prize will take the form of a certificate of merit issued by the Folklore Society, and £250.
- One for outstanding post-graduate work in folklore and folkloristics. The prize will take the form of a certificate of merit issued by the Folklore Society, and £300.
The prize is open to all students registered either full-time or part-time on a relevant undergraduate (or equivalent Levels 4, 5, 6) or post-graduate (or equivalent Levels 7, 8) course of study at a university or other institution of higher or further education in the UK or Republic of Ireland.
Entries should include:
- A completed President’s Prize Nomination Form. Nominations must be received after 1 July and no later than 30 September
- An academic reference from a tutor, supervisor, lecturer or other appropriate officer at the institution concerned. References must be received no later than 30 September. They can be emailed directly to thefolkloresociety@gmail.com.
- Proof of registration/enrolment in course(s) at the institution during the academic year ending 30 September.
- A sample up to a maximum 12,000 words of the student’s unpublished academic work on folklore topics. This should normally include at least one substantial piece of original work (e.g. dissertation, extended essay, report, project, etc.). Submissions should be in good clear English and sent electronically to thefolkloresociety@gmail.com
The prizes will each be adjudicated by three judges appointed by the Council of the Folklore Society, at least one of whom shall be the President or Vice-President. The decision of the judges is final and the Folklore Society reserves the right not to award the prize if, in the opinion of the judges, the work submitted on behalf of the nominees fails to reach the standard required. Members of the Council of the Folklore Society are not eligible for nomination.
The winners may be offered the chance to publish part of their submission in one of the publications of the Folklore Society and/or on our website. They may also be invited to receive their certificates at the Society’s annual lecture, the Katharine Briggs lecture, in November.
The Society’s Council may amend these rules as it sees fit in future years.
Click here to download this information in pdf form
Previous Winners of the President’s Prize
(The prize was not awarded in some years, and two prizes were awarded in others)
2024 Harvey Alexander Cross: ‘Why Do People Believe in Ghosts, Aliens, and Bigfoot? Exploring the Rise of Popular Antiscientific Folklore in the Euro-American West.’
2023 Xinrui Xie, ‘Shadowed Maternity: The Perpetuating Ambivalence towards Motherhood in Ubume Narratives.’
2020 a) Louise Edge, ‘”Méchante mère”: Infanticide in the Folk Ballads of Nineteenth-century France.’
2020 b) Antonia Frances, ‘Voices of Salento: Identity in Traditional Song and Rituals of the “Terra d’Otranto”, c.1900 to the Present Day.’