The Wakley Prize, 2015: what do you know?

Abstract

12 www.thelancet.com Vol 386 July 4, 2015 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 refl ection, 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, fi ne 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. We invite submissions from anyone around the world working in a health-related fi eld, whether you’re a student, established in mid-career, or approaching the end of a lifetime of service in health care or biomedical science. Allow your imagination the freedom to develop your idea into the informal prose of an excellent essay. Essays of no more than 2000 words should be submitted via The Lancet’s electronic submission system by Oct 26, 2015, with “Wakley Prize” selected as the publication type. Essays should not contain any information that might identify individual patients. Entries will be anonymised, and judged by the editors of The Lancet. The winner of the Wakley Prize will receive £2000, and the essay will be published in The Lancet and feature in our podcast. We will only accept one submission per author. We look forward to reading your essays and fi nding out what you know and why it matters.