Age limit: 14-18
JASNA conducts an annual student Essay Contest to foster the study and appreciation of Jane Austen's work.
The contest is open to students world-wide in three divisions:
" High School: students and home-schooled students enrolled at the high school level during the contest year
" College/University: students enrolled in at least six credit hours of course work at a junior college, college, or university during the contest year
" Graduate School: students enrolled during the contest year in at least three credit hours of graduate course work at a college or university leading to an advanced degree

High School Students' prompt: Female "villains" in Jane Austen's novels don't get away with their bad deeds. Or do they? Discuss at least one or more such characters from the major novels and compare them to the title character in Lady Susan. The latter is a short epistolary novel that can be viewed as the last of the Juvenilia or the first of Austen's mature novels. You are welcome-but by no means required-to bring in some works from the Juvenilia. We suggest "Henry and Eliza," "The Three Sisters," "The Beautifull Cassandra," and/or "Love and Freindship." (No, the extra "l" and "ei" aren't typos; that's how young Jane spelled them!)

Prizes:
JASNA awards scholarships to winners in each of the three divisions:
" First Place: $1,000 scholarship and free registration and two nights' lodging for JASNA's upcoming Annual General Meeting (Transportation to the conference is not provided.)
" Second Place: $500 scholarship
" Third Place: $250 scholarship
Winners and their mentors each receive a one-year JASNA membership. In addition, each winner receives a set of Norton Critical Editions of Jane Austen's novels. The winning essays are published on this website.