The John J. Winkler Memorial Trust invites all undergraduate and graduate students in North America (plus those currently unenrolled who have not as yet received a doctorate and who have never held a regular academic appointment) to enter the 31st competition for the John J. Winkler memorial prize.
This year the Prize will be a cash award of $2000, which may be split if there is more than one winner.
The Prize is intended to honor the memory of John J. (“Jack”) Winkler, a classical scholar, teacher, and political activist for radical causes both within and outside the academy, who died of AIDS in 1990 at the age of 46. Jack believed that the profession as a whole discourages young scholars from exploring neglected or disreputable topics, and from applying unconventional or innovative methods to their scholarship. He wished to be remembered by means of an annual Prize that would encourage such efforts.
In accordance with his wishes, the John J. Winkler Memorial trust awards a cash prize each year to the author of the best undergraduate or graduate essay in any risky or marginal field of classical studies. Topics include (but are not limited to) those that Jack himself explored: the ancient novel, the sex/gender systems of antiquity, the social meanings of Greek drama, and ancient Mediterranean culture and society. Approaches include (but are not limited to) those that Jack’s own work exemplified: feminism, anthropology, narratology, semiotics, cultural studies, ethnic studies, and LGBTQ+ studies.
The 2025 Winkler Prize Competition
The winner of the 2025 Prize will be selected from among the contestants by a jury of four, as yet not named.
The deadline for submissions is March 1, 2025. Essays should not exceed the length of 30 pages, including notes but excluding bibliography and illustrations or figures. Electronic submission is required. Essays should be sent in .doc or .pdf format.
The preferred method of submission is by Google form: https://forms.gle/98yfV5vTE4oQVcmb9
If you are unable to use the Google form, you may send in your essay by email to James Uden, uden@bu.edu. Please include with your essay the following information: your college/university, your department or program of study, whether you are a graduate or undergraduate, your email and regular mail addresses, a phone number where you can be reached in May 2025, and the title of your work.
The Winkler Prize is intended to encourage new work rather than to recognize scholarship that has already proven itself in more traditional venues. Essays submitted for the prize should not, therefore, be previously published or accepted for publication. Exceptions may be made in the case of anticipated publication in a conference proceeding.
The Trust reserves the right not to confer the Winkler Prize in any year in which the essays submitted to the competition are judged insufficiently prizeworthy.
Contestants may send their essays and address any inquiries to: James Uden, Department of Classics, Boston University (uden@bu.edu).
The John J. Winkler Memorial Trust was established as an independent, charitable foundation on June 1, 1990. Its purpose is to honor Jack Winkler’s memory and to promote both his scholarly and his political ideals.
Inquiries about the Winkler Prize, tax-deductible gifts to the trust, and general correspondence may be addressed to Kirk Ormand, John. J. Winkler Memorial Trust, Department of Classics, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH 44074.
