The Foodways Section publishes a journal, awards prizes for outstanding work in foodways, hosts networking receptions, and sponsors sessions at the AFS annual meetings. For more information, please contact section conveners LuAnne Roth (University of Missouri) and Katrina Wynn (Main Folklife Center).

Digest

Digest: An Interdisciplinary Study of Food and Foodways is the section's journal. Devoted to publishing work that explores aspects of food, culture and identity, the online journal includes peer-reviewed articles, as well as non-reviewed ethnographic research reports, creative pieces, recipes, archival materials and book reviews, related to foodways and culture.

For more information on Digest, please contact co-editors Diane Tye of Memorial University or Michael Lange of Champlain College. Submissions should be sent to Diane Tye.

The Foodways Section of the American Folklore Society invites submissions for the Sue Samuelson Award for best student paper on food and foodways. Papers should be based on original fieldwork or research and utilize current folkloric approaches to analysis and interpretation.  

The prize includes $200 (USD), publication in the foodways journal Digest, and free one-year membership to the Foodways Section of AFS.  Winners may apply for a travel stipend (of up to $300) to present the winning paper at the upcoming American Folklore Society conference http://www.afsnet.org/?page=2011AMPD.  There is no entrance fee and the contest is open to undergraduate and graduate students.

To Enter:
* Save your original, unpublished essay (from 1,500 to 9,000 words) as a Word document and attach it to your e-mail. Include the essay title, your full name, postal address, phone number, and e-mail address. Type "Foodways Essay Contest" in the subject description of the e-mail and send the submission to LuAnne Roth at rothl@missouri.edu.
* All entries must be received by February 1st.
* Entries will be judged according to the following criteria: Sensitivity to the people and culture being described, depth of analysis into the food tradition, ability to engage the reader, and quality of writing.
* Supporting photos (in .jpg or .gif format) are welcome. Please compress image files before sending.
* The journal Digest reserves first-time Worldwide Electronic rights for winning submissions and the right to reprint the paper in a future publication. The writer may republish the unedited submission as desired six months after initial publication in Digest.
* Winners will be notified by e-mail in March.

Contest Terms:
Submissions should be previously unpublished, either in print or on the Web. Decisions of the judges are final.  The Foodways Section is not responsible for late, lost, incomplete, or illegible e-mail or for any computer-related, online, or technical malfunctions that may occur in the submission process. Submissions are considered void if illegible, incomplete, damaged, irregular, altered, counterfeit, produced in error, or obtained through fraud or theft. The winner will be paid by check. Federal, state, and local taxes are the sole responsibility of the contest winners.

Click here to join this American Folklore Society interest-group section. Click here to pay section dues.