“The Hubert Butler Essay Prize is a splendid thing, both a tribute to one of the very greatest exponents of the form, and a venture aimed at ensuring the continued health and vivacity of the form itself. Montaigne would approve, and so would Orwell. Write on!” John Banville, Honorary Patron

HUBERT BUTLER ESSAY PRIZE 2025

The title of this year’s essay is:

‘Men must endure / Their going hence, even as their coming hither’ – King Lear.  Have we no more active rights over life, birth and death?

HOW TO ENTER

The attitude of passive acceptance of birth and death, preached by Edgar to his father in King Lear, has been variously challenged in the modern period.  The nature of human rights in the matter have been hotly contested: the right to life of the unborn child as against women’s reproductive rights, the principle of the sanctity of all human life clashing with the right to a chosen, dignified death. The title for this year’s Hubert Butler Essay Prize invites reflection on the ethical questions raised by such debates.

You are encouraged to explore Hubert Butler’s writings before starting your essay.