Essays must fall within the scope of The London Journal. They may be on any aspect of London life, past and present; cover any period of London’s history; reflect any relevant approach or disciplinary perspective; and can consider London alone or in comparison with other cities. Essays must be based on original research and should not have been previously published.

Area of research:
The history of London from the Romans to the present day.

Purpose

The Worshipful Company of Curriers, one of the livery companies of the City of London, has established a prize for essays on any aspect of London life, past and present, in association with The London Journal Trust and the Institute of Historical Research. The author of the winning submission will receive £1,000 and the essay will normally be published in The London Journal.

Eligibility

The prize is open to postgraduate students and early career scholars. ‘Early career’ is defined for this purpose as someone who has completed (i.e. been successfully examined for) a PhD within the previous three years.

Essays must fall within the scope of The London Journal. They may be on any aspect of the history of London, from the Romans to the present day, reflect any relevant approach or disciplinary perspective, and can consider London alone or in comparison with other cities. The essay topic is by no means confined to the City of London. The range of reference may also include the changing perceptions of London as reflected in imaginative literature. Essays must be based on original research and should not have been previously published.

Submissions should be a maximum of 9,000 words in length and be suitable for publication in an academic journal. Submitted essays must be in the style of The London Journal and be in article format. The 9,000-word limit is inclusive of endnotes but not of abstract, tables, and captions. Please state the word count of your paper at the end of the essay.

Please do not include any identifying information in your essay or endnotes, as the essays are judged anonymously. Further guidance on the scope and requirements of The London Journal can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/yldn20/about-this-journal.

For examples of past winning entries, see https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/yldn20/collections/best-paper-prize-curriers-company.

Illustrations and Graphics

The inclusion of images and graphics is encouraged. These can be included in a low resolution in the essay, and do not need to meet the resolution requirements listed for The London Journal.

Assessment

The selection panel will make its decisions based on:

•  the author’s skill and control in using sources;
•  the author’s command of evidence;
•  the author’s clarity and quality of writing;
•  whether the entry makes a clearly defined contribution to the knowledge and understanding of London life, past and present;
• the originality of the entry;

Entry Format

Submissions in Word format (rather than PDF) are preferred, but either format is accepted. Hard-copy entries will be deemed ineligible.