Katharine Briggs Folklore Award 2002: Judges' Report

The Katharine Briggs Folklore Award for 2002 was presented on 12 November by the President of the Folklore Society, Dr Marion Bowman, following a lecture by Professor Wolfgang Mieder of the University of Vermont entitled "Good Fences Make Good Neighbours: History and Significance of an Ambiguous Proverb." For the first time, both lecture and reception took place in the Warburg Institute and the change of venue was generally found to be very congenial.

Out of a field of twenty-eight entries this year, nine were shortlisted. Of these, five went no further, despite having many excellent qualities: Nicola Brown, Fairies in Nineteenth-Century Art and Literature (Cambridge University Press); Brenda Danet, Cyberpl@y: Communicating Online (Berg); Anna Reid, The Shaman's Coat (Weidenfeld and Nicolson); David Sutton, Remembrance of Repasts (Berg); and Georges Zimmerman, The Irish Storyteller (Four Courts).

Ultimately, four books achieved ranked positions. The Honourable Mention went to Elizabeth Warner for Russian Myths (British Museum Press), which the judges found to be a highly enjoyable and accessible introduction to its subject. There were also two Runners Up. One was Step Change: New Views on Traditional Dance (Francis Boutle), a collection of essays edited by Georgina Boyes. The judges were impressed by this book's usefulness for both specialist and popular audiences, and suggested that it would be especially suitable for folklore classes. The other Runner Up was Ronald Hutton's Shamans (Hambledon and London), which made accessible material not previously available in print.

The winning entry was Death, Memory and Material Culture (Berg) by Elizabeth Hallam and Jenny Hockey. This book--"intelligent, well-written and very relevant to folklore studies'--deals with the constructed nature of memory and presents a rigorous interpretation of evidence covering a substantial historical spread. The authors were also commended for "bridging the gaps between anthropology, folklore, and social history," and for recognising that burial customs are strategies for managing the lives of the bereaved, rather than relics of "ancient fears and antique practices."

As ever, the judges and convenor are grateful to all the authors and publishers who supported this year's competition by submitting their books for the award. In addition, as I am now stepping down as convenor, I should like to extend my thanks to the authors, publishers, and judges with whom I have worked and corresponded in connection with the Katharine Briggs Award over the past four years.

Jessica Hemming, Folklore Society. Katharine Briggs Award Convenor

COPYRIGHT 2003 Folklore Society
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group