News & Events

The Wakley Prize, 2015: what do you know?

Posted on August 11, 2015

Source: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)61136-9/fulltext

The Wakley Prize, 2015: what do you know?

What do I know? That question was the impulse behind Michel de Montaigne's essays. Whether he was writing about illness, vanity, drunkenness, or sleep, Montaigne wrote with informality, intimacy, and incisive knowledge. As another great essayist William Hazlitt said of Montaigne, “he did not set up for a philosopher, wit, or orator or moralist but he became all these by merely daring to tell us whatever passed through his mind”. In the centuries since Montaigne mastered this form, the essay, a discursive and intimate form of personal reflection, has remained a powerful way to inform, engage, and entertain readers.

So what do you know? And why does it matter to clinical medicine or global health now? We want you to tell us by entering The Lancet's annual essay competition, the Wakley Prize—named after Thomas Wakley, the radical founding Editor of The Lancet. The Prize will be awarded to the best essay on any clinical topic of importance to health. Whether your focus is global or local, we expect provocative originality, fine writing, and invigorating argument. We're looking for fresh writing that engages both our hearts and minds about what matters most to you in contemporary medicine.

Click here for more information