Omnibus Competitions
Every year, our Omnibus magazine runs two competitions for students aged under 19 in full-time education: a translation prize and an essay prize.
PLEASE NOTE THAT ENTRIES FOR 2026 ARE NOW CLOSED.
Details for 2027 entry will be published in Omnibus 93 and on the Classical Association website.
2027 Omnibus Sam Hood Translation Prizes
Omnibus now invites entries (just one per person!) for the 2027 Sam Hood Translation Prize.
The judges are keen to encourage elegant and stylish creative translations from Greek and Latin prose and verse. Try your hand at translating any one of the following passages (verse passages may be translated into either verse or prose, as you consider most appropriate):
Livy 1.59.3–10
Virgil, Eclogue 9.1–29
Juvenal, Satires 1.1–30
Sophocles, Aias 646–76
Aristophanes, Thesmophoriazousai 383–413
Lucian, Dionysos 7
Texts of these passages can be found on the website of the Classical Association (https://classicalassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Sam-Hood-Prize-2027.pdf), but you may use any text that is available to you, provided that you include with your translation a copy of the text you have translated.
The judges will be looking for accuracy but also, and especially, for creativity when making their decisions. The competition is open to anyone under 19 and still in full-time pre-university education. Entries must include a statement from your Latin or Greek language teacher, containing the teacher’s e-mail address, confirming that this is the case. By entering the competition, you are signing up to the following statement of good academic practice:
‘I certify that this is my own work, that I have not based my entry on published translations (either hard-copy or electronic), that I have not used generative AI at any stage in the process, or used the services of any private competition-tutoring companies, and that I have received no assistance beyond general advice and guidance from my teacher.’
The prize-winner will receive not only a cheque for £75 but also a book of classical poetry.
Deadline: 2 pm (BST) on Wednesday 7th July 2027. Entries received after this point will not be considered. Detailed instructions for how to submit your essay will be published in Omnibus 93 and on the Classical Association website. The judges’ decision is final: no correspondence will be entered into.
2027 Gladstone Memorial Essay Prizes
Through the generosity of the Gladstone Memorial Trust Omnibus is again in 2027 able to offer prizes for excellent essays on classical themes.
The first prize stands at £200, the second at £100.
The competition is open to anyone under 19 and still in full-time pre-university education. Entries must include a statement from your teacher, containing the teacher’s e-mail address, confirming that this is the case. By entering the competition, you are signing up to the following statement of good academic practice:
‘I certify that this is my own work, that I have acknowledged material taken from other works including both hard-copy and electronic resources, that I have not used generative AI at any stage in the process, or used the services of any private essay-tutoring companies, and that I have received no assistance beyond general advice and guidance from my teacher.’
Essays must not exceed 2000 words.
Deadline: 2 pm (BST) on Wednesday 7th July 2027. Entries received after this point will not be considered. Detailed instructions for how to submit your essay will be published in Omnibus 93 and on the Classical Association website. The judges’ decision is final: no correspondence will be entered into.
The topics for 2027 are as follows. You may, and are encouraged to, discuss the questions in relation to one (or more) particular speech, play, book or artefact, as relevant.
1. ‘Much better without the gods’. Discuss with reference to EITHER Homer OR Virgil.
2. Is ancient speech-making excessively focused on character?
3. What does the chorus add to EITHER Greek tragedy OR Greek comedy?
4. Can we write a history of the Greek world that is not focused on war and citizen men?
5. ‘Roman culture is all derivative from Greek’. Is this a fair assessment of EITHER Latin literature OR Roman art?
6. The Roman Empire proves that integration and inclusion are key to a successful state. Discuss.
7. What archaeological discovery has most changed our understanding of the ancient world in the last century?
8. Select one historical OR literary figure from the ancient world you think has been misunderstood or misrepresented. Explain your reasons.
You can read some previous winning entries into the Competition:
Anna Drummond Young on Plato (Issue 75)
Claudia Thomas on Aeneid 8 (Issue 71)
Natalya Khan on Roman Britain (Issue 67)
Ellie Moodey on Ovid (Issue 63)
Adam Lomax on Cleon (Issue 59)
