The P G Wodehouse Society (UK) Essay Prize 2025

Guidance 2025

P G Wodehouse is one of, if not the, funniest writer of the twentieth century. His humorous outpourings extended into all realms of English literature: poetry, lyrics for stage and screen, short stories, journalism and novels. “The object of all good literature is to purge the soul of its petty troubles”, so he once said, and his writings have provided light-hearted relief from the trials and tribulations of the world to millions of readers worldwide.

In the year marking the fiftieth anniversary of Wodehouse’s death, to celebrate the work of this remarkable writer, the P G Wodehouse Society (UK) is delighted to announce the launch of its second international essay competition. A prize of £750 will be awarded to the winner of the competition (rules and guidelines below).

Guidelines for Authors

1. Word count of 3,000 to 6,000 words, excluding footnotes and bibliography.

2. Essays need to be formatted in the MHRA style.

3. While the Society does not want to be restrictive in the areas or topics that may be covered (and understand that literary critical essays often draw on illuminating historical and contextual engagement), we are primarily seeking essays that focus on Wodehouse’s novels, stories, lyrics, plays, and journalism, rather than essays of a purely biographical nature.

4. Comparative essays are acceptable, but the focus of the essay must be on Wodehouse.

5. Works submitted for publication elsewhere will not be considered, and the Society will run a plagiarism check on potential shortlisted essays to verify.

Do I need to be an academic to enter?

Not at all! The aim of the essay prize is to encourage more consideration of Wodehouse as an author and his works as worthy of deeper consideration, whether by an ‘amateur’ or a ‘professional’. Entrants from all walks of life are encouraged to provide new and interesting perspectives on Wodehouse’s works.

What if I’m not familiar with MHRA formatting?

In response to feedback from our previous prize, we have given entrants guidance on formatting with the aim of making it easier for them to know what’s expected. Any attempt at adhering to the guide, especially in footnoting, will be appreciated.

Who do I contact if I have any further questions?

Please email PGWSocietyUKEssay@gmail.com and Becky Andrew (Chair of the Essay Prize) will respond.

Judging Process

1. Entries adhering to the above guidelines will be read and ranked by the Chair of the Essay Prize (BTh, MA, PhD) and the best six will be shortlisted and anonymised.

2. The shortlist will be judged by an external panel of 3 people, chaired by the Chair of the Essay Prize (non-voting).

3. The winner will then be notified. Please note that the Chair’s and judging panel’s decision is final, and no correspondence after any brief feedback will be entered into.

Timeline

● Sunday 1 June 2025 - Announcement of competition made in Wooster Sauce, across social media platforms, and via any other channels. Website with guidance goes live.

● Monday 17 November 2025 23:59 GMT - deadline for applications.

● w/c Monday 5 January 2026 - judging panel to meet, virtually or otherwise, to discuss and pick a winner.

● Monday 2 March 2026 - announcement in Wooster Sauce, via email to members and across social media platforms.

Submissions

Entries should be submitted by Word attachment to: PGWSocietyUKEssay@gmail.com by Monday 17 November 2025 23:59 BST, and the winners will be announced in March 2026. Entries will be anonymised ahead of going to the judging panel.

The covering email must include:

● Full name of the author.

● Postal address of the author.

● An email address where the author can be contacted and will respond as swiftly as possible.

● Information about where you heard about the essay prize.

Terms and Conditions

1. Entrants do not need to be members of the P G Wodehouse Society (UK).

2. Members of the P G Wodehouse Society (UK) Committee and their families, are precluded from entering the competition.

3. Only one submission per person is allowed.

4. No entries submitted after the closing date will be accepted.

5. Entrants from across the world are invited to participate but must include a full name and postal address when applying.

6. Essays must be submitted in English (quotations are acceptable in other languages, but translations need to be provided).

7. Judging will take place by 30 January 2026 and the winners notified, confidentially, by email. If your work is chosen, you must not mention this to anyone until the winners are announced by the P G Wodehouse Society (UK) in the March 2026 issue of Wooster Sauce and across social media platforms the same day.

8. The decision of the judging panel is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

9. By entering, the authors grant permission to the P G Wodehouse Society (UK) to use the entry and names of the winners and runners-up plus their locations (not full address) as it wishes to for publicity.

10. Entries must be the entrants’ original works and not have been submitted or published elsewhere. The Society will be running plagiarism checks to ensure fair play.

11. The P G Wodehouse Society (UK) will bear the cost of bank charges incurred in international money transfers from the Society.

12. As part of the prize, winners and runners-up may have their work published by the Society through one of its channels or publications. This is not guaranteed. Entrants may wish to submit their entries for inclusion in academic journals.

a. Non-shortlisted entrants are free to publish elsewhere and can apply to be featured in the P G Wodehouse Society (UK)’s journal, Wooster Sauce, by agreement of the Editor through the usual channels.

b. Shortlisted entrants may be offered the opportunity to be published in Wooster Sauce after the winner has been announced, but can reserve the option to seek publication in an academic journal with the agreement of the Chair of the Essay Prize.

c. The winner of the competition may also publish their full essay serialised in Wooster Sauce, or seek publication of the full article in an academic journal with the agreement of the Chair of the Essay Prize, but will be expected to prepare a shortened version or summary for Wooster Sauce. Assistance in preparing the shortened version will be provided by the Chair of the Essay prize.

13. The judges reserve the right not to award the prize.

14. In addition to the winners, essays considered by the judges to have worth may be formally commended, but no cash prize will accrue – merely the glory of recognition.

Winners of Previous Prizes

2023: Fergus Butler-Gallie, The Hour Breeds Thought - Night Time In The Stories Of P G Wodehouse

2023 (Junior): Anna Sanchez O’Brien, The Reasons Why Stories Of Jeeves And Wooster Should Be Introduced To Young Adult Audiences