NAVSA Essay Prizes

	NAVSA Prizes In 2003, NAVSA will award its first essay prizes, a $1000 prize for the best journal essay published in 2002 and a $250 prize that will be awarded to the best graduate paper delivered at the 2004 conference, which will occur at the University of Toronto. See below for the Rules that apply to the Donald Gray Prize (directly below) and to the Graduate-Student Award (further below).

NAVSA Prizes

In 2003, NAVSA will award its first essay prizes, a $1000 prize for the best journal essay published in 2002 and a $250 prize that will be awarded to the best graduate paper delivered at the 2004 conference, which will occur at the University of Toronto. See below for the Rules that apply to the Donald Gray Prize (directly below) and to the Graduate-Student Award (further below).

	The Donald Gray Prize Description The annual NAVSA Prize for best essay published in the field of Victorian Studies is named after Donald J. Gray, Culbertson Professor Emeritus in the English Department of Indiana University. Professor Gray received his PhD at Ohio State University, where he completed his dissertation under the direction of Richard Altick, and began teaching at Indiana University in 1956. At Indiana, Professor Gray received the university's Distinguished Teaching Award, its Distinguished Service Award, and the President's Medal of Excellence; in 1997, he received the MLA award for professional service. He was a dissertation director of legendary responsiveness, acuity and stamina, having directed over 75 dissertations. He retired in 1998. Professor Gray is the editor of the Norton Pride and Prejudice and Alice in Wonderland; with George Tennyson he edited Victorian Poetry and Prose for MacMillans. He also served as editor of the journal College English and, beginning in 1957, as the Book Review Editor of Victorian Studies, helping the founding editors steer the journal through its early years. From 1990-2000 he served as principal editor of the journal. The NAVSA essay prize honors his remarkable achievements as editor and graduate-student teacher. Policies In February, nominations will be solicited by the NAVSA Executive Council for essays in journal issues which appeared in print the previous calendar year, on any topic related to the study of Victorian Britain. Anyone, regardless of NAVSA membership status, is free to nominate an essay that appeared in print between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2003. (The prize is limited to essays published in journals; those published in essay collections are not eligible.) Nominations are also solicited from the Advisory Board of NAVSA; self-nominations are welcome. Authors may be from any country and of any institutional standing; they need not be members of NAVSA. To nominate an essay, please submit four copies of the essay to the Executive Secretary of NAVSA at the following address: Melissa Gregory Department of English Mail Stop 925 University of Toledo Toledo, Ohio 43606 Nominated essays must be postmarked by May 13, 2004. There will be three judges selected by the NAVSA Executive Council. Typically, one of the judges shall be from a department of English and one from a department of history. The third can be from any department. One judge shall usually be from the US and one from Canada. Judges will not be editors of journals in the field, though they may serve as members of journal advisory boards; and they will not be members of the NAVSA Executive Council. One judge will be named chair, and will be in charge of mediating disputes and conveying the results in a timely fashion to the NAVSA Executive Committee. The usual term for judges shall be for two years, and their terms will be staggered. The winning essay will be selected according to three criteria: 1) Potential significance for Victorian studies; 2) Quality and depth of scholarly research and interpretation; 3) Clarity and effectiveness of presentation. The judges will choose one essay for the award, with two honorary runners-up also selected, and will provide a short paragraph for use in announcing the award. If the judges are deadlocked, the decision is thrown to the NAVSA Executive Council. A decision should be reached by August 1. The winner will receive $1000 and complementary registration at the NAVSA conference at which his or her award will be announced.

The Donald Gray Prize

Description

The annual NAVSA Prize for best essay published in the field of Victorian Studies is named after Donald J. Gray, Culbertson Professor Emeritus in the English Department of Indiana University. Professor Gray received his PhD at Ohio State University, where he completed his dissertation under the direction of Richard Altick, and began teaching at Indiana University in 1956. At Indiana, Professor Gray received the university's Distinguished Teaching Award, its Distinguished Service Award, and the President's Medal of Excellence; in 1997, he received the MLA award for professional service. He was a dissertation director of legendary responsiveness, acuity and stamina, having directed over 75 dissertations. He retired in 1998.

Professor Gray is the editor of the Norton Pride and Prejudice and Alice in Wonderland; with George Tennyson he edited Victorian Poetry and Prose for MacMillans. He also served as editor of the journal College English and, beginning in 1957, as the Book Review Editor of Victorian Studies, helping the founding editors steer the journal through its early years. From 1990-2000 he served as principal editor of the journal.

The NAVSA essay prize honors his remarkable achievements as editor and graduate-student teacher.

Policies

In February, nominations will be solicited by the NAVSA Executive Council for essays in journal issues which appeared in print the previous calendar year, on any topic related to the study of Victorian Britain. Anyone, regardless of NAVSA membership status, is free to nominate an essay that appeared in print between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2003. (The prize is limited to essays published in journals; those published in essay collections are not eligible.) Nominations are also solicited from the Advisory Board of NAVSA; self-nominations are welcome. Authors may be from any country and of any institutional standing; they need not be members of NAVSA. To nominate an essay, please submit four copies of the essay to the Executive Secretary of NAVSA at the following address:

Melissa Gregory
Department of English
Mail Stop 925
University of Toledo
Toledo, Ohio 43606

Nominated essays must be postmarked by May 13, 2004.

There will be three judges selected by the NAVSA Executive Council. Typically, one of the judges shall be from a department of English and one from a department of history. The third can be from any department. One judge shall usually be from the US and one from Canada. Judges will not be editors of journals in the field, though they may serve as members of journal advisory boards; and they will not be members of the NAVSA Executive Council. One judge will be named chair, and will be in charge of mediating disputes and conveying the results in a timely fashion to the NAVSA Executive Committee. The usual term for judges shall be for two years, and their terms will be staggered. The winning essay will be selected according to three criteria: 1) Potential significance for Victorian studies; 2) Quality and depth of scholarly research and interpretation; 3) Clarity and effectiveness of presentation.

The judges will choose one essay for the award, with two honorary runners-up also selected, and will provide a short paragraph for use in announcing the award. If the judges are deadlocked, the decision is thrown to the NAVSA Executive Council. A decision should be reached by August 1. The winner will receive $1000 and complementary registration at the NAVSA conference at which his or her award will be announced.

	NAVSA Award for the Best Graduate Student Paper at the Annual Conference The annual NAVSA Graduate Award recognizes the best paper submitted by a graduate student for the annual NAVSA conference. Graduate students whose proposals have been accepted for the conference may submit their papers to the Conference Committee by October 1 for the competition. The winning paper will be selected according to the same criteria as the Gray Award: 1) Potential significance for Victorian studies; 2) Quality and depth of scholarly research and interpretation; 3) Clarity and effectiveness of presentation. The judges will choose one essay for the award, with two honorary runners-up also selected. A decision will be made by the time of the 2004 Conference. The Award winner will receive $250 at the conference banquet and a year's free NAVSA membership (including a subcription to Victorian Studies). If the judges are deadlocked, the final decision will be made by the NAVSA Executive Committee.

NAVSA Award for the Best Graduate Student Paper at the Annual Conference

The annual NAVSA Graduate Award recognizes the best paper submitted by a graduate student for the annual NAVSA conference. Graduate students whose proposals have been accepted for the conference may submit their papers to the Conference Committee by October 1 for the competition. The winning paper will be selected according to the same criteria as the Gray Award: 1) Potential significance for Victorian studies; 2) Quality and depth of scholarly research and interpretation; 3) Clarity and effectiveness of presentation. The judges will choose one essay for the award, with two honorary runners-up also selected. A decision will be made by the time of the 2004 Conference. The Award winner will receive $250 at the conference banquet and a year's free NAVSA membership (including a subcription to Victorian Studies). If the judges are deadlocked, the final decision will be made by the NAVSA Executive Committee.