Stuart Hall Essay Prize

Deadline: 3 November 2025

The Stuart Hall Foundation is pleased to invite submissions for the second Stuart Hall Essay Prize, which includes a £2000 prize.

Open to submissions from UK-based entrants aged 18 to 30 inclusive, the prize invites new and unpublished writing that connects with Stuart Hall’s ideas and impacts broad public discourse.

The award aims to stimulate a new generation of thinkers who can offer original, lively and topical contributions to the lines of political, cultural and educational inquiry which Hall pursued. Entries from academics, students, journalists and other writers are welcomed. The winner will receive a prize of £2,000.

The entrants may choose the topic of the essay. The prize welcomes essays that connect with Hall’s characteristic interests, and with his concern to say something relevant about the current ‘conjuncture’, however broadly received.

Examples of Stuart Hall’s interest areas broadly include questions of race and inequality in culture and society; identity and difference; (post)coloniality and diaspora; Marxism and post-Marxism; present-day politics of the left; media and cultural studies. Stuart Hall’s bibliography provides further reading on his exploration of these areas, however there is no requirement that the essay directly engages with particular texts.

Early in the essay, entrants should briefly establish how they are engaging with Hall’s thinking. Essays may be supportive and developmental in relation to Hall’s work; they may also be productively critical; they may also take Hall’s concerns in new theoretical directions or provide them fresh empirical exemplification.

*This is an external opportunity. Always refer to the source for more information, but if we can assist, get in touch!