The Scottish Labour History Society has launched an essay competition for undergraduates. The competion, which comes with a cash first prize of £400 and publication of the winning essay in the journal Scottish Labour History, is open to anyone currently registered for a first degree in Britain or abroad, or to anyone who has completed such a degree no earlier than February  2023. Download the entry form.

Please note that the closing date for entries has been extended to 16 March 2024.

Ian MacDougall Essay Prize

The Scottish Labour History Society has established the Ian MacDougall Essay Prize with a threefold purpose:

• to honour the memory of Dr Ian MacDougall (1933-2020), founding secretary of the Scottish Labour History Society and the Scottish Working People’s History Trust
• to encourage the finest standards of scholarship amongst undergraduate students in the field of labour history in Scotland
• to promote the study and recording of labour and popular history in Scotland.

The essay prize will be awarded annually, the winner to receive:

• a cash prize of £400
• publication of the winning essay in Scottish Labour History
• one year’s free subscription to the Scottish Labour History Society, including subscription to Scottish Labour History.

A runner-up prize of £100 will be awarded where deemed appropriate. This, and other entries of sufficient quality, may be invited to publish in Scottish Labour History and, if so, will receive one year’s free subscription.

The essay prize will be awarded at the annual Ian MacDougall Memorial Lecture, held at the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, in April of each year.

Entry requirements and rules for the Ian MacDougall Essay Prize are as follows:

• the essay prize is open to anyone currently registered for a first degree in Britain or  abroad, or to anyone who has completed such a degree no earlier than February  2023
• submissions are to be 4,500-5,000 words in length, including footnotes and references
• submissions should be sent as a Word document by email attachment to the Scottish Labour History Society at: admin@scottishlabourhistorysociety.scot
• the author’s name and other identifying details (eg acknowledgements to tutor, etc) must not appear on the essay
• all entries must be accompanied by an official Ian MacDougall Essay Prize entry form, downloaded from the Scottish Labour History Society website.
• the closing date for entries will be 16 March 2024.
• submissions can be on any labour history topic broadly defined, with particular reference to Scotland
• submissions should conform to Scottish Labour History style guidelines, as set out therein and on the Scottish Labour History Society website
• submissions must not be under consideration for publication elsewhere
• where material submitted is not of a suitable standard, no prize will be awarded
• the decision of the judges will be final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

Download the entry form.