The 2026 Jonathan Ali Essay Prize

The Monumental Brass Society announces the application window for the third round of the Jonathan Ali Prize, which awards £350 to the best article or chapter focusing on monumental brasses or incised slabs that has been published within the last three years. The Prize has been made possible thanks to the generosity of our late member, Jonathan Ali. 

This year, judges will consider applications dating from January 2023 to the present day.

The window for applications is now open and will close on 31 December 2025. Works will be considered during the first months of 2026 and the winner will be announced in July 2026.

To apply, simply send a PDF of your article or chapter to ali-prize@mbs-brasses.co.uk before 31 December, with a simple covering email giving your title, where the work was published, and the date of publication.

Previous Winners

2024
John Lee, for his article, ‘Brass among Glass: The Tame Family Brasses in Fairford Church, Gloucestershire’, Monumental Brass Society Transactions, XXII (2021), pp.74-99.

2023
Robert Kinsey, for his article, ‘The Brass of Sir John de Creke and Lady Alyne at Westley Waterless, Cambridgeshire’, Monumental Brass Society Transactions, XXI (2020), pp.38-68.