Eligibility and Entry Requirements: Sarah Cecilia Harrison Essay Prize 2023

Aerial view of bundles of handwritten letters, some with red wax seals

Please carefully read these rules and guidelines before entering the Sarah Cecilia Harrison Essay Prize 2023 (the Prize).

  1. Applicants must be 18 years of age, or over, as of 22 September 2023.
  2. Employees, directors and other officers of the National Gallery of Ireland (hereafter referred to the Gallery), and such persons’ family members are not eligible to enter. If you are engaged from time to time by the Gallery as a volunteer, freelance tour guide, workshop facilitator or otherwise on an ad hoc basis, you are eligible to enter.
  3. All entries will be fully anonymised before assessment by the judging panel.
  4. Applicants must email complete entries by the deadline. INCOMPLETE OR INACCURATE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE PROCESSED. A complete application comprises (a) the essay, (b) abstract, (c) applicant's biography, (d) the following personal details listed in the body of the email:
    • Applicant's full name
    • Address
    • Date of birth
    • Telephone number
    • Social media handles (optional)
    • Statement of permission for the Gallery to share applicant's name and locality (if shortlisted) with press, media and other promotional purposes in connection with the competition, including on the Gallery’s social media platforms
  5. Authors may submit 1 (one) essay only.
  6. The submitted essay must be the author’s own original work.
  7. Fictional essays are not acceptable.
  8. Only entries received via email in Word document or PDF format to [email protected] will be accepted. Applications in other formats will not be accepted. No postal entries will be accepted.
  9. Applications must be submitted by midnight (IST) on or before Friday 22 September 2023. You must submit all of the information outlined at Rule 4 (above). Incomplete applications will not be processed.
  10. Essays should be submitted in English only and should be no longer than 5,000 words in length, inclusive of cover pages, footnotes and endnotes. All quotations and references to published and unpublished sources in the essay must be accompanied by a full citation in the essay’s endnotes, at the end of each chapter (Author, title/source, date and place, page number) using the Oxford referencing style.
  11. Applications must be accompanied by a 500-word abstract which will form the basis of the shortlist.
  12. Applications must be accompanied by a 200-500 word biography of the author.
  13. The winning author will be informed by no later than Friday 27 October 2023.
  14. By entering the Prize, the applicant irrevocably agrees to be bound by these Rules and warrants that they are the owner of, and hold the copyright in, the essay.
  15. The author warrants that the essay complies with all of the eligibility and entry requirements set out in these Rules.
  16. The copyright in the winning essay is, and will remain, the property of the author. However, in order to promote the Prize and encourage further research into history of women in the arts in Ireland, it is a condition of entry that the winning author grants the Gallery non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, irrevocable licence to print, publish, copy, reproduce and distribute  the essay for publicity, educational, reference and all broadcast and digital purposes in connection with the Prize, including the right to publish the winning essay online and in publications which the Gallery deems suitable. The winning essay will not be edited in any way without the consent of the author and credit will always be given to the author.
  17. The Gallery may, but shall not be obliged to, film and broadcast the processes of the Prize. The winning author irrevocably consents to content from their essay, as well as footage or stills of the author, being included in such filming, whether broadcast or not. The author acknowledges that all intellectual property rights and any other rights in such footage will vest exclusively in the Gallery and that Gallery shall be entitled, without reference to the author, to edit such footage as it sees fit and to distribute it in any media anywhere in the world. The author hereby irrevocably waives all and any performers’ moral rights and any other similar rights which may be vested in the author in respect of his/her contribution to such footage in favour of the Gallery and its successors and assigns.
  18. The winning author agrees to participate in such promotional activity related to the Prize as is reasonably requested by the Gallery. Please be aware that this includes, but is not limited to, the Gallery’s education and public engagement activities. The winning author will not do anything to knowingly bring the reputation of the Gallery or Prize into disrepute.
  19. All dates are subject to change at the Gallery’s sole discretion.
  20. The winning author will be awarded a cash prize of €1,000. If the winner cannot be contacted or does not claim the prize within 30 days of notification, the Gallery reserves the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and select an alternative winner.
  21. A prize-giving ceremony is scheduled to take place on 30 November 2023 and it is a condition of these Rules that the winner is present at, and participates in, that ceremony. The Gallery will notify the winner if the ceremony will take place in person at the Gallery or take place as a virtual ceremony.
  22. The decisions of the judges are final and binding and no correspondence will be entered into in relation to such decisions. Feedback will not be available.
  23. The Gallery reserves the right to disqualify any essay at any time if the author has not adhered to these Rules, even if the work has been selected as the winner.
  24. Data Protection. The Author hereby acknowledges and agrees that any personal data provided to the Gallery pursuant to, or in connection with, these Rules, may be processed by the Gallery (or third party processors on their behalf) for the following purposes:
    1. for the performance of these Rules, including, where applicable, processing payment;
    2. in relation to the Credit Line, for publication on the Gallery’s website, in any publication or promotional material produced by or on the behalf of the Gallery where the essay is featured;
    3. for press and other promotional purposes in connection with the Prize;
    4. for general administrative purposes in connection with the Prize;
    5. for any data processing necessary in order for the Gallery to carry out its public interest task of increasing or diffusing knowledge of the visual arts, in accordance with its obligations under the National Cultural Institutions Act, 1997;
    6. for financial auditing purposes; and
    7. for statistical, historical and archival research purposes.
  25. For information as regards your rights in relation to your personal data, please read our Privacy Notice.
  26. These Rules shall be governed by and construed in accordance with Irish law and any disputes arising under these rules shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Irish courts.

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