The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry has established the Partington Prize in memory of Professor James Riddick Partington, the Society’s first Chairman. It is awarded every three years for an original and unpublished essay on any aspect of the history of alchemy or chemistry. The prize consists of five hundred pounds (£500). The competition is open to anyone with a scholarly interest in the history of alchemy or chemistry who, by the closing date of 31 December 2013, has not reached 35 years of age, or if older has been awarded a doctoral thesis in the history of science within the previous three years. Scholars from any country may enter the competition, but entries must be submitted in English and must not have been previously submitted to another journal. The prize-winning essay will be published in the Society’s journal, Ambix.

Entries should be submitted electronically as e-mail attachments. We prefer files to be Microsoft Word documents (Word 93–2013 or higher), although these may be accompanied by a PDF version if desired. Essays must be fully documented using the conventions used in the current issue of Ambix. Essays must not exceed 10,000 words in length, including references and footnotes. All entries must be submitted with a word count.

All entries should be sent to The Hon Secretary, Dr Anna Marie Roos, at anna.roos@history.ox.ac.uk, with the words “Partington Prize” in the subject heading. Two documents should be submitted: the first, a separate title page giving the author’s name, institution, postal address, e-mail address and date of birth (and, if relevant, the date of the award of the Ph.D.). The second should be the essay. The author’s name and contact details must not appear on the pages of the essay as the identity of the author will not be made available to the judges. Essays (no more than one from each competitor) must be received no later than midnight GMT on 31 December 2013.

The decision of the judges appointed by the Council will be final. The Society reserves the right to divide the prize between two or more entries of equal merit, or not to award a prize should no essay be deemed of suitable standard. The name of the winner will be announced by 30 April 2014.