Jane Austen Society Essay Contest

1. Eligibility

High school students and home-schooled students enrolled at the high school level during the contest year. In addition, there are two other divisions for College/University and Graduate School. 

2. Contest Topic

Men and Boys in Jane Austen’s Novels

Jane Austen’s novels are usually told from the perspective of her female heroines. For this essay, you are asked to shift your focus to male characters. Choose two or more male figures, such as heroes, villains, friends, relatives, or comic characters, from one or more Austen novels.

In your essay, you may:

• Compare or contrast their personalities and behaviors
• Examine how they change (or don’t change) over the course of the novel
• Analyze their relationships with women, siblings, or society
• Discuss how they represent different types of masculinity in Austen’s world

You may include limited background on the Regency era if helpful, but this should not be a research paper. The focus should be your own interpretation, supported by close reading and quotations from the text.

High school students can choose characters from one novel or multiple Austen novels.

3. Prizes

• First Place: $1,000 scholarship, plus free registration and two nights’ lodging for JASNA’s upcoming Annual General Meeting. (Transportation to the conference is not provided.)
• Second Place: $500 scholarship
• Third Place: $250 scholarship
• Winners will also receive one year of membership in JASNA, publication of their essays on this website, and a set of Norton Critical Editions of Jane Austen’s novels.