Forum for Modern Language Studies - Forum Essay Prize 2013

[Oliver Smith]

The Forum Prize 2012
The 2012 Forum Prize competition was on the subject of Literature and Hunger. Authors were invited to consider how the basic human preoccupation with hunger has been reflected and explored in literature. The editors were delighted to receive a large number of high-quality submissions from both experienced and early-career researchers. It is with pleasure that we announce the winning essay by Francesco Manzini, ‘Nutrition, Hunger and Fasting: Spiritual and Material Naturalism in Zola and Huysmans’, which we look forward to publishing in the near future.
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Forum Essay Prize 2013: Literature and Gossip 
Truman Capote famously said that ‘all literature is gossip’, but how true is this? Gossip plays a key part in the literature of oral traditions, in classical drama, and in the epistolary novel, among many other forms. For the 2013 Forum Prize competition, the General Editors of Forum for Modern Language Studies (FMLS) invite articles addressing the topic of Literature and Gossip. 
In what ways does literature exploit the concept of gossip? What can the use of gossip in fiction, drama and verse tell us about characters, plot and tone? In what ways is literature itself gossip? La Princesse de Clèves has been described as ‘courtly tittle-tattle’: does the function of literature in a culture parallel that of gossip in a community? What can literary culture tell us about gossip? What can linguistics tell us about the language of gossip as it is represented in literary texts, broadly understood to include non-fiction and correspondence, and can it offer parameters by which gossip can be described or defined? Does the new immediacy made possible by the internet, and, for example, the increasing popularity of confessional literature, offer new ways of thinking about the relationship between gossip and literature? What effects has the practice of criticism as gossip had on the production of literature?
The Forum Prize 2013 competition invites submissions on the subject of Literature and Gossip, addressing literature of any period, from a literary or linguistic perspective, and in any of the languages covered by the journal (usually English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Russian, but we will consider others too). The competition is open to all researchers, whether established or early-career: it is worth noting that previous competitions have been won by scholars in both categories.
The Forum Prize 
The winner’s prize will consist of: 
1. Publication of the winning essay in the next appropriate volume of Forum for Modern Language Studies 
2. A cheque of £200 
A panel of judges will read all entries, which will be assessed anonymously. There is no runner-up prize, but the Editors may commission for publication any entries that are highly commended by the judges. 
Entry Requirements and Submission details for the Forum Essay Prize 2013
The closing date for entries is Friday 29 March 2013. Entries must be written in English and should be no more than 6,500 words in length including notes, should conform to MHRA style, and must be accompanied by an abstract summarizing the principal arguments and making clear the relevance of the article to the competition topic. Articles should be submitted online at www.fmls.oxfordjournals.org, flagged as Forum Prize entries and following the guidelines for authors. We will also accept submissions by email or hard copy and disc, if there is a compelling reason: in this case, please contact the Administrative Editor, Dr Robin MacKenzie (rmm10 at st-andrews.ac.uk).
Click here for full details of the Essay Prize rules.

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