Announcement: The Edith Wharton Society Award for a Mid-Career Scholar has been renamed the Carole Shaffer-Koros Award for a Mid-Career Scholar.
This award is named in honor of Carole Shaffer-Koros, who has been one of the Edith Wharton Society’s most dedicated and indispensable members. Her service to the Society has been remarkable in both its breadth and its longevity. She served as Editor of the Edith Wharton Review for sixteen years, guiding the journal with exceptional care and helping to shape the field of Wharton studies for a generation of scholars. She also generously served as Treasurer of the Edith Wharton Society, providing steady leadership and support during an important period in the Society’s development.
Most recently, as the Society’s archivist, Carole undertook the invaluable task of researching, documenting, and publishing a comprehensive archive of the Edith Wharton Society in the Edith Wharton Review. Through this work, she has preserved the collective memory of our organization for future generations of scholars.
In addition to her extraordinary service, Carole has published widely on Edith Wharton’s works, contributing important scholarship that has enriched our understanding of Wharton and her literary legacy. The Society has benefited immeasurably from her scholarship, leadership, generosity, and unwavering commitment. We owe Carole Shaffer-Koros our deepest gratitude for all she has done to strengthen and preserve the Edith Wharton Society.
Dear Colleagues and Edith Wharton Friends:
The Edith Wharton Society is delighted to announce three prizes for 2026: the Elsa Nettels Prize for a Beginning Scholar, the Edith Wharton Society Award for Archival Research, the Edith Wharton Society Undergraduate Research Prize and the Carole Shaffer-Koros Award for a Mid-Career Scholar
Below please find all calls for submissions. All submission materials should be sent via email by July 30, 2026 to current EWS President, Margaret Jay Jessee at mjjessee@uab.edu
The Elsa Nettels Prize for a Beginning Scholar
This award, formerly known as the “Edith Wharton Society Prize for a Beginning Scholar,” established in 2005, recognizes the best unpublished essay on Edith Wharton’s work by a beginning scholar, advanced graduate student, independent scholar, or faculty member who has held a full-time appointment for four or fewer years. All entries will be considered for publication in The Edith Wharton Review, published by Penn State University Press. The author of the prize-winning essay will receive an award of $500.
How to apply:
- Submissions should be 20-30 double-spaced pages long and follow the 9th edition MLA style, using endnotes rather than footnotes.
- Submissions should include two attached files: an anonymized MS Word version of your paper and a separate cover letter containing the applicant’s name, essay title, academic status, e-mail address, postal address, and the award name.
- Please use the subject line: “EWS Elsa Nettels Prize for a Beginning Scholar.”
- Submissions are due to mjjessee@uab.edu by July 30, 2026.
The Edith Wharton Society Award for Archival Research
The archival award, in the amount of $2,000.00, enables a scholar to conduct research at one of the Edith Wharton archives at Wharton’s library at The Mount in Lenox, MA, the Wharton Collection at Yale University’s Beinecke Library, or the Wharton papers at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas.
This award is supported through a generous donation from The Mount: Edith Wharton Cultural Center.
Funds must be used for transportation, lodging, and other expenses related to archival research. Notification of the award will take place by August 15, 2025. The award can be used between August 15, 2025 and August 14, 2026. A brief report detailing some aspect(s) of the research (not intended to preempt publication in other scholarly venues) will be due to the EWS president by September 1, 2026 and will be published in the Edith Wharton Review.
How to apply:
- Submissions should include a proposal (of no more than two single-spaced pages) that describes the applicant’s overarching research project, its contribution to Wharton scholarship, the applicant’s scholarly preparation, and the relevance of the archive to the project’s completion.
- Also include two additional attachments: a CV and a separate cover letter containing your current affiliation, rank, and mailing address.
- Please use the subject line: “EWS Award for Archival Research.”
- Submissions are due to mjjessee@uab.edu by July 30, 2026.
The Edith Wharton Society Undergraduate Research Prize
First offered in 2014, the undergraduate research prize is open to students at all undergraduate levels. Papers should be no more than fifteen pages long and can address Wharton’s works in any genre. The winning essay will be published on the EWS website, and the author will receive an award of $200.
How to apply:
- Please send an anonymized electronic submission as an email attachment in Microsoft Word, along with a separate attached cover letter containing your name, essay title, undergraduate institution, the name of your faculty mentor, email address (and perhaps an alternate email, if your email address is about to change), postal address, and the name of the award.
- Please use the subject line: “EWS Undergraduate Research Prize.”
- Submissions are due to mjjessee@uab.edu by July 30, 2026.
The Carole Shaffer-Koros Award for a Mid-Career Scholar
This award recognizes the best unpublished essay on Edith Wharton’s work by a scholar who has held a full-time appointment or a terminal graduate degree for ten years or more. The author of the prize-winning essay will receive an award of $500. The essay will also be considered for publication in The Edith Wharton Review (Penn State University Press) either in the form of a peer-reviewed article or a shorter piece in the journal’s “Notes on…” section.
This award is named in honor of Carole Shaffer-Koros, who has been one of the Edith Wharton Society’s most dedicated and indispensable members. Her service to the Society has been remarkable in both its breadth and its longevity. The Society has benefited immeasurably from her scholarship, leadership, generosity, and unwavering commitment.
How to apply:
- Submissions should be 15-25 double-spaced pages long and follow the 9th edition MLA style, using endnotes rather than footnotes.
- Submissions should include two attached files: an anonymized MS Word version of your paper and a separate cover letter containing the applicant’s name, essay title, academic position, e-mail address, postal address, and the award name.
- Please use the subject line: “Carole Shaffer-Koros Mid-Career Scholar.”
- Submissions are due to mjjessee@uab.edu by July 30, 2026.