Prizes and Bursaries

ANZAMEMS offers its members the chance to apply for a number of Prizes and Travel Bursaries. Please direct all queries regarding prizes and bursaries listed below to: info@anzamems.org

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Current Prizes

ANZAMEMS Conference Bursaries

Kim Walker Postgraduate Travel Bursary

ANZAMEMS Carer Bursaries

Maddern Crawford Network Conference Bursaries

Publication Prizes

George Yule Essay Prize

Constant Mews Early Career Publication Prize

Philippa Maddern ECR Publication Prize

Patricia Crawford Postgraduate Publication Prize

Anne M. Scott Parergon Journal Prize

Other ANZAMEMS Awards and Bursaries

ANZAMEMS Early Career Fellowship Program

ANZAMEMS Life Member Award

Donate to the Postgraduate Travel Fund


Former Prizes

Book Prizes (Sponsored by ANZAMEMS and ARC Humanities Press)

ANZAMEMS–ARC Humanities Award for Original Research 

Borderlines Award


Conference Related Bursaries


ANZAMEMS Conference Bursaries

To enable current or recent postgraduates who are currently unwaged to attend the ANZAMEMS biennial conference and deliver a paper at a session, travel bursaries will be offered. The amount of funding available and hence the number of bursaries funded, will be determined by the ANZAMEMS Honours and Prizes Sub-Committee after they have considered the applications. It is not expected that Sub-Committee will be able to offer a bursary to every eligible applicant. In the event of there being more eligible applicants than can be supported, the Sub-Committee will rank applicants according to distance travelled, financial need, current employment status, and access to other sources of funding.

More details and eligibility requirements are available here.

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Kim Walker Postgraduate Travel Bursary

In 2003, ANZAMEMS established a bursary to honour the life and work of Dr Kim Walker, lecturer in English (with specialties in renaissance studies and Shakespeare) at Victoria University of Wellington. Dr Walker is remembered as a generous colleague, for her papers at various ANZAMEMS conferences, as a reviewer for Parergon, and in particular as the convenor of the Wellington ANZAMEMS conference in 1998, and as ANZAMEMS Vice President (New Zealand). Kim Walker’s obituary, written by Judith Dale, is published in Parergon (19.2 July 2002), pp. 1-3. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/474575/pdf

One of the conference bursary applicants will be selected for the Kim Walker Travel Bursary, currently set at AUD$500.

The bursary will be partially funded by donations to the Postgraduate Travel Fund.

More details and eligibility requirements are available here.

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ANZAMEMS Carer Bursaries

There will be a select number of bursaries available to support conference attendees attending online with carer responsibilities. The amount of funding available and hence the number of bursaries funded, will be determined by the ANZAMEMS Honours and Prizes Sub-Committee after they have considered the applications.

More details and eligibility requirements are available here.

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Maddern Crawford Network Conference Bursaries

To enable current ANZAMEMS members to attend the ANZAMEMS biennial conference travel bursaries will be offered by the Maddern Crawford Network.

More details and eligibility requirements are available here.


Publication Prizes

George Yule Essay Prize

This prize was named in 2001 to commemorate the life and work of George Shaw Sandon Yule (1919-2000), Professor of Church History at Ormond College, University of Melbourne (1957-77) and Professor of Church History at the University of Aberdeen (1978-88). Professor Yule organised the first biennial conference of AHMEME (Australian Historians of Medieval and Early Modern Europe), which amalgamated with ANZAMRS (Australian and New Zealand Association of Medieval and Renaissance Studies) to form the present ANZAMEMS. A special issue of Parergon (21.2 July 2004), prefaced by Wilfrid Prest, celebrates George Yule’s contribution to British history. George Yule’s obituary, written by Ian Breward, Patrick Collinson, Wilfrid Prest, John Reeve, is published in Parergon (18.3 July 2001), pp. x-xviii. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/474453/pdf

The George Yule Prize is awarded to the best essay written by a postgraduate. It is awarded biennially, at each ANZAMEMS conference.

Due to insufficient entries no George Yule Prize was awarded in 2024.

More details and eligibility requirements are available here.

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Constant Mews Early Career Publication Prize

The Constant Mews Early Career Publication Prize honours the work of Professor Constant Mews, FAHA, a former President of ANZAMEMS, and distinguished scholar in the medieval history of religions, intellectual history, and textual editing and translation. The Prize is established to encourage and reward outstanding work by Early Career Researchers in Constant’s broad areas of scholarly interest.

The Constant Mews Early Career Publication Prize will be offered biennially, with the submission and adjudication process timed so that the announcement of the winner can be made at an ANZAMEMS Biennial International Conference. The Prize will be offered in 2024, with the winner announced at the ANZAMEMS conference to be held in Christchurch, New Zealand in February 2024

The Constant Mews Early Career Publication Prize will be awarded to an Early Career Researcher (ECR) for the best article-length scholarly work in Constant’s broad areas of scholarly interest: the medieval history of religions, intellectual history, and textual editing and translation, published within the below date range.

More details and full eligibility requirements can be found HERE.

Please direct all queries regarding the prize to info@anzamems.org.

Donate to the Mews Prize

We have organised with The University of Western Australia (who is registered with the ACNC) to accept donations for the Constant Mews Prize on behalf of the Association. The donations are tax-deductible.

You are able to donate via the following link: https://giving.uwa.edu.au/online-giving

Please select option OTHER in the drop down menu, and enter the following in the text box that appears: ANZAMEMS Mews Prize.

Once you have donated, please contact Dr Marina Gerzic at info@anzamems.org with details of the date and amount of your donation. If you would prefer to donate by bank transfer, please contact Dr Gerzic via email at info@anzamems.org.

Past winners of the Constant Mews Early Career Publication Prize

  • 2022: Dr Pippa Salonius (Monash University)
  • 2024: Catherine Rosbrook (Ghent University)
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Philippa Maddern ECR Publication Prize

Philippa Maddern (1952–2014) was Professor of History at The University of Western Australia, Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions, an ANZAMEMS stalwart, and an active member of the Association from its inception. Philippa contributed enormously to the development of medieval and early modern studies, both in Australia and globally. She gave great service as an office bearer of ANZAMEMS, serving in a range of capacities on the committee including many years as its Treasurer. Philippa was a great champion of researchers embarking on academic careers and ANZAMEMS is proud to establish a Publication Prize for Early Career Researchers in her honour.

The Philippa Maddern Publication Prize will be offered biennially, with the submission and adjudication process timed so that the announcement of the winner can be made at an ANZAMEMS Biennial International Conference.

The Philippa Maddern ECR Publication Prize is awarded to an Early Career Researcher (ECR) for the best article-length scholarly work in any discipline/topic falling within the scope of medieval and early modern studies, published within the below date range.

More details and full eligibility requirements are available HERE.

Please direct all queries regarding the Prize to: info@anzamems.org

Past winners of the Philippa Maddern ECR Publication Prize

  • 2016: Dr Heather Dalton (The University of Melbourne)
  • 2018: Dr Kirk Essay (The University of Western Australia)
  • 2021: Dr Amanda McVitty (Massey University) and Dr Jonathan Hui (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore) – joint winners
  • 2023: Dr Jessica O’Leary (Australian Catholic University)
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Patricia Crawford Postgraduate Publication Prize

Patricia Crawford (1941–2009) was Professor Emerita of History at The University of Western Australia. A pioneering feminist historian, she is remembered as a leading scholar of early modern England whose work brought new depth to the study of women’s lives and thereby transformed understanding of the period. Trish was internationally recognised and served The University of Western Australia, her discipline, and ANZAMEMS with distinction. An active member of ANZAMEMS and the Parergon Editorial Committee, Trish was a scholar passionate about collaboration, and a mentor of extraordinary generosity, and ANZAMEMS is delighted to establish a Publication Prize for postgraduate students in her honour.

The Prize will be offered biennially, with the submission and adjudication process timed so that the announcement of the winner can be made at an ANZAMEMS Biennial International Conference.

The Patricia Crawford Postgraduate Publication Prize is awarded to a postgraduate student for the best article-length scholarly work in any discipline/topic falling within the scope of medieval and early modern studies, published within the within the below date range.

More details and full eligibility requirements are available HERE.

Please direct all queries regarding the Prize to: info@anzamems.org

Past winners of the Patricia Crawford Postgraduate Publication Prize

  • 2016: Anna Milne-Tavendale (University of Canterbury)
  • 2018: Amy Elizabeth Brown (University of Geneva)
  • 2021: Emma Rayner (Australian National University), and Paige Donaghy (The University of Queensland) – joint winners
  • 2023: Dr Georgina Pitt (The University of Western Australia)
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Anne M. Scott Parergon Prize

Dr Anne M. Scott (1940–2021) was a noted scholar of poverty and charity in the later Middle Ages, and a former editor of Parergon. Anne became co-editor of Parergon in 2006, then sole editor from 2010 to 2016. She had been on the editorial committee since 2002. Over this period, the journalʼs ranking with Project Muse steadily rose, increasing its revenue to support the other activities of ANZAMEMS. Through annual special issues, Parergon reached out to involve a wider world of medieval and early modern scholarship. Her outstanding contribution was recognised with life membership of ANZAMEMS, and the Association is delighted to rename the former Parergon Prize in her honour.

The Prize will be offered biennially, with the submission and adjudication process timed so that the announcement of the winner can be made at an ANZAMEMS Biennial International Conference.

More details and full eligibility requirements are available HERE.

Please direct all queries regarding the Prize to: info@anzamems.org

Past winners of the Anne M. Scott Parergon Publication Prize

  • 2021: Dr Keagan Brewer (Macquarie University), ‘Talking Wolves, Golden Fish, and Lion Sex: The Alterations to Gerald of Wales’s Topographia Hibernica as Evidence of Audience Disbelief?’. Parergon 37.1 (2020), 27–53. https://doi.org/10.1353/pgn.2020.0057.
  • 2023: Dr Kirk Essary (The University of Western Australia), ”The Bloody Sweat of Our Minds’: (Dis)embodied Emotions in Erasmus, More, and Calvin’. Parergon 38.1 (2021): 41–64. https://doi.org/10.1353/pgn.2021.0003.
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ANZAMEMS Early Career Fellowship Program

This fellowship is intended to support the development of early career researchers in pursuing advanced research and publication in medieval studies, early modern studies, and medievalism. The funding is flexible, and can be potentially be used at any stage of the research process: trips to archives or libraries, access to digital resources, reproduction and permissions fees for images of rare materials at libraries and archives, time to organize notes and images, support for work-life balance, support for time to write.

Applicants should make a strong case for their proposed topic’s importance, its relevance to a field of study relevant to ANZAMEMS, and the originality and sophistication of its approach. They should also describe the type of work they would like to undertake, with a justification of why and how their research agenda will advance their project, and their plans for the future advancement and eventual publication of their work.

Fellowships will be awarded on the basis of the project’s merit, and the expected contribution the fellowship funding and mentorship will make to the project advancing towards publication and dissemination. 

Successful applicants will receive

  • $3000 AUD (ex. GST) in research funding, awarded at the commencement of the fellowship;
  • Mentoring by a senior ANZAMEMS academic, meeting approximately monthly for a period of six (6) months.

Please note that the Fellowship Program will NOT run in 2024.

Please direct all queries regarding the Fellowship Program to: info@anzamems.org

Current ANZAMEMS Early Career Fellows

  • Dr Matthew Firth (Flinders University)
  • Dr Roberta Kwan (Macquarie University/University of Sydney)
  • Dr Amy Sinclair (The University of Melbourne/Deakin University)

Past ANZAMEMS Early Career Fellows

2022
  • Nathaniel Cutter (The University of Melbourne)
  • Dr Beth Spacey (The University of Queensland)
  • Dr Amanda van der Drift (The University of Queensland)

ANZAMEMS Life Member Award

The ANZAMEMS Life Member Award recognises scholars who have made a lasting contribution to the field of medieval and early modern studies, by exhibiting leadership and/or providing inspiration to others in the field, throughout their research and teaching careers, and/or through their active service to ANZAMEMS or Parergon.

More details and eligibility requirements are available here.

A list of honorary life members of ANZAMEMS can be found here.

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Postgraduate Travel Fund

At the time of registration for conferences, members will be given the opportunity to make a donation to a Postgraduate Travel Fund, from which conference bursaries will be paid. The donations are currently NOT tax deductible.

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Former Prizes

ANZAMEMS–ARC Humanities Award for Original Research 

The ARC Humanities and ANZAMEMS Book Prizes provided a gold open access scheme exclusively tailored to ANZAMEMS members. 

The ANZAMEMS–ARC Humanities Award for Original Research was aimed at Early Career Researchers, including those completing their first books, and independent scholars. Where relevant, the winner of the Prize benefited from ARC Humanities expert advice on converting a PhD thesis to a monograph. 

The Prize consisted of:

  1. A book contract with ARC Humanities Press, and;
  2. AUD$10,000, which is paid directly by ANZAMEMS to the Press to cover the costs of gold open access. 

Past Winners of the ANZAMEMS–ARC Humanities Award for Original Research 

  • 2021: Anna Dorofeeva (Free Univ. of Berlin) for Reading Nature in the Middle Ages: Writing, Language and Creation in the Latin Physiologus, ca. 700–1000.
  • 2022: Georgina Pitt (The University of Western Australia) for Ælfred mec heht gewrycan: the persuasive agency of objects and social practices in Alfred the Great’s reform programme.
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ANZAMEMS–ARC Humanities Borderlines Award

The ARC Humanities and ANZAMEMS Book Prizes provided a gold open access book prize scheme exclusively tailored to ANZAMEMS members. 

The ANZAMEMS–ARC Humanities Borderlines Award was aimed at promoting scholarship with particular strengths in opening up new territorial perspectives, subject-areas, or interdisciplinary methods. 

The Prize consisted of:

  1. A book contract with ARC Humanities Press, and;
  2. AUD$10,000, which is paid directly by ANZAMEMS to the Press to cover the costs of gold open access.

Past Winners of the ANZAMEMS–ARC Humanities Humanities Borderlines Award

2022: Due to insufficient entries, no prize was awarded in 2022.

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