Society & Culture Spotlight PGR and ECR Writing Competition Series 3
Society & Culture Spotlight
PGR & ECR Writing Competition 2026
All PGRs/ECRs from across ÌÇÐÄTV University are encouraged to contribute to this exciting opportunity. As part of the writing competition, you will be assigned a supportive mentor and have the opportunity to have your work published on the Spotlight website and to present your work at a Society & Culture Spotlight Celebration Event. It is a chance to get creative and to shape our work in the areas of society and culture. Prizes are available for winners.
To participate, please submit a 250 words expression of interest (EOI), The deadline for the submissions of EOIs (250 words) is Wednesday 13th May.
This year’s creative writing competition centres on the theme of crisis. We welcome submissions from any subject area or discipline that explore ‘crisis’ across society and culture, understood in the broadest possible terms. Following the EOI stage, a group of applicants will be invited to submit their full draft of their written pieces for judging (deadline 10th June). A prizegiving and celebration event will take place on 22nd June.
We welcome single and co-authored competition submissions. Co-authored submissions should include no more than two authors. Both authors must be PGRs/ECRs at the University of ÌÇÐÄTV.
The winners and runners up will receive a monetary prize:
First prize £250
Second prize £150
2 x runners up £100
This competition will take place in two stages:
Stage 1: Expression of Interest
Postgraduate Researchers and Early Career Researchers are invited to submit a 250 word expression of interest by 12:00 Wednesday 13th May 2026.
Stage 2: Invitation for Final Submission
Following the Expression of Interest, a selection of applicants will be invited to submit a developed version of their submission application, which will be published on the Society & Culture Spotlight website.
The final submission deadline is 10th June 2026 and will be no longer than 3000 words.
Competition Timeline
| Wednesday 13th May 2026 |
Deadline for Expressions of Interest |
| Wednesday 20th May 2026 |
Selected applicants invited to submit developed version for publication and mentor assigned. |
| Wednesday 10th June 2026 |
Final Submission due for review and publishing. |
| Monday 22nd June 2026 |
Celebration Event for PGR & ECR Network and published writers to present their work. |
For queries around the event, please contact idresearch@warwick.ac.uk.