Don Yoder Prize for the Best Graduate Student Paper in Folk Belief or Religious Folklife

About this program

The Folk Belief and Religious Folklife Section of the American Folklore Society offers the Don Yoder Prize, a $500 honorarium awarded annually for the best graduate student paper on a topic in folk belief or religious folklife. Eligible entries are research papers in English by current graduate students written after January 1 of the previous year (published or unpublished); one submission per person and prior section student-prize winners are ineligible (William A. Wilson undergraduate winners may later apply). Submissions must be 8–36 double-spaced pages (12-pt font, one-inch margins), anonymized for blind review, fully footnoted in Journal of American Folklore style, and include a cover letter stating the paper date and venue, a 100-word biographical statement confirming graduate status, and a faculty sponsor’s letter. All materials must be submitted electronically via the AFS prize application form by July 15.