2026 Essay Contest
Winning Entries
Topic: Men and Boys in Jane Austen’s Novels
In Austen’s novels, we usually see the world through her heroines’ eyes. For the 2026 contest, we invited students to shift their focus and examine her male characters. They were asked to choose two or more of her heroes, villains, friends, enemies, relatives, comic figures, young boys, etc. Essays could explore their similarities and/or differences, whether their characters change during the novel, their relationships with their siblings, how men tend to treat women, or focus on another area.
High School Students could choose two or more characters from one of Austen's novels or from two or more of her books. Undergraduate Students were required to choose characters from at least two novels. Graduate Students were also required to choose characters from at least two novels. In addition to the suggested areas of exploration included in the topic description above, grad students could also discuss how Austen’s portrayal of men changes (or does it?) from her early works to her last and unfinished. Other topics were also welcome.
View the list of essays awarded "Honorable Mention."
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Contents
HIGH SCHOOL DIVISION
COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY DIVISION
GRADUATE SCHOOL DIVISION
ESSAY CONTEST COMMITTEE
Meg Levin, Chair
Carol Moss
ESSAY CONTEST JUDGES
(* indicates also a screener)
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Patricia Ard Maria Biajoli Andrea Bradley Kenneth Brewer Judine Brey Ashley Burns Courtney O. Carlisle * Jessica Connolly Annette Cheney-Williams Jessica Connolly MarJean Corkran Noelle Darling * Kara Schaff Dean Stephanie Diehl Kathryn Duncan * Rebecca Duncan Susan Durst Judith Elson Rose Engelfried * Julianna Scott Fein * |
Norah Glickstein Elyse Greenhut * Kathleen Hohenleitner Sabina Hollis * Charlotte Jennings Jeanie Lewis * Kalee Lineberger Sherry Lockwood Kelly McDonald * Linda Null Alex Andy Phuong * Elizabeth Pickens Paul Savidge Sue Scott * Amanda Soares * Amy Stallings Katie Sweeting Alisa Thomas Cynthia Trochu Brian Troester * Judith Umbach Juliette Wells
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ESSAY CONTEST SCREENERS
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Bob Blythe Linda Dennery Renata Dennis Evelyn Haskins |
Sheila Hegarty Kalee Lineberger Fran Winter |
