The Joan Leach Memorial Graduate Student Essay Prize 2026
The Gaskell Journal runs a biennial Graduate Student Essay Prize in honour of Joan Leach MBE, founder of the Gaskell Society. The winning essay will be published in the Gaskell Journal (with revisions as appropriate), and its author will receive £200 from the Gaskell Society, and a complimentary copy of the Journal.
The essay competition is open to all graduate students currently registered for a PhD or MA. Entries must offer an original contribution to the field of Gaskell studies, whether to read her work in relation to Victorian social or intellectual contexts, or in the light of critical theory, or to offer a comparative study connecting Gaskell with another author. Essays will be shortlisted by the Gaskell Journal Editorial Board, with the final winner being chosen by our guest judge who is an eminent scholar in Victorian Studies. Previous judges have included Professor Kate Flint, Professor Joanne Shattock, and Professor Jill Matus.
Essays should be 6,000-7,000 words, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere. All shortlisted submissions will be considered for potential publication in the Gaskell Journal. Please see the Gaskell Journal website for submission details and style guide: www.gaskelljournal.co.uk.
Please direct any queries to the Editors, Dr Ben Moore and Dr Rebecca Styler.
For submission details, please download the entry form.
Previous Winners
2024 – Lucina Schwartz, Rutgers University, New Brunswick
2022 – Hannah E. Scupham, University of Kansas
2020 – Christopher Harrington, La Trobe University, Melbourne
2018 – Roxanne L. Gentry, University of Connecticut
2016 – Molly C. O’Donnell, University of Nevada
2014 – Christie Allen, University of Michigan
2012 – Kerri E. Hunt, University of Chicago