Selden’s Sister Essay Writing Competition
Selden’s Sister is a collaboration amongst academics in the UK, championing the work of women in legal history. To read more about what we do and who is involved, please see our website.
Selden’s Sister is pleased to invite undergraduate students to submit essays on any topic relating to women in legal history. Topics could be, but are not limited to, biographical, theoretical, feminist or philosophical research. The selection committee will be looking for an entrant’s ability to construct a clear, coherent, and well-supported argument based upon appropriate sources.
The winner of the Essay Prize will receive book tokens worth £100, generously donated by Hart. The winning essay will feature on the Selden’s Sister blog.
Essays submitted for this competition should be the candidate’s original work with an argument, structure, and analysis. You may discuss the material with colleagues and teachers, but all submitted work should be your own, and generative AI may not be used to create the answer.
Essays should contain referencing – OSCOLA is the preferred format. References or citations in footnotes (and your bibliography, if required by your referencing system) are not included in the word count.
This Essay Prize is open to any student enrolled in the academic year 2025-2026 in any year of study of an undergraduate course at a UK university, including part time and mature students. Entries must be submitted via university email.
The essay should be no more than 2,500 words and should be submitted in a .docx format to seldenssister@gmail.com
The competition will close on 1 October 2025. A shortlist will be made by the committee members of Selden’s Sister. The short-listed candidates will be invited to attend the Selden’s Sister Annual Lecture on 27 November 2025 at the University of Nottingham, where the prize winner will be announced.
Please direct any enquiries or questions about the competition to seldenssister@gmail.com
Selden’s Sister Committee
