The Conversation, Curtis Brown and Faber are pleased to announce our three judges for The Conversation Prize for writers 2026.
They are: history professor, Catherine Clarke; innovation professor, Tim Minshall; and our very own Steven Vass, senior editor for Science Insights at The Conversation.
Our competition is looking for the best longform article and nonfiction book idea aimed at a general audience from our community of academics. For your chance to win £1,000, publication on The Conversation and mentorship from a literary agent and book publisher, then enter your 2,000-word story and book idea.
The competition will close on July 5, 2026 at 11.59pm BST.
About our judges
Author provided (no reuse)
Catherine Clarke is professor and director of the Centre for the History of People, Place and Community at the Institute of Historical Research. She is a cultural historian specialising in the Middle Ages, but she also works across a broad range of periods on questions of place, identity, heritage and uses of the past.
Her book A History of England in 25 Poems was published by Penguin Allen Lane in September 2005.
Author provided (no reuse)
Tim Minshall is the inaugural Dr John C. Taylor Professor of Innovation at the University of Cambridge, the head of the Engineering Department’s Institute for Manufacturing and a fellow of Churchill College. His research, teaching and outreach are focused on the links between manufacturing and innovation. He is the author of Your Life is Manufactured: How We Make Things, Why It Matters and How We Can Do It Better, published by Faber. He lives in Cambridge with his scientist wife, Nicola.
Author provided (no reuse)
Steven Vass is Senior Editor, Science Insights, at The Conversation UK and before that was Scotland Editor and Senior Business and Economy Editor. He was previously a reporter for the Sunday Herald and The Herald, as well as having spent several years as a development volunteer in Zambia and several more as a media analyst in London. He is the author of Let the Music Play, published by Velocity, about how synths and drum machines changed 70s and 80s R&B.
How to Enter
The competition will close on Sunday 5th July at 11.59pm BST.
To enter, please email your 2,000-word article, plus the following information, to uk-prize@theconversation.com:
Name
Institution
Country
Telephone no.
Your book idea [max 350 words] Please provide a brief summary of a trade nonfiction book idea based on your article. Tell us why this topic deserves a deeper dive and why it would appeal to an audience of non-academic readers.
About you [max 100 words] Tell us a little about you – your current role, your area of expertise and any relevant research to your book idea. Why would you be the right author for this book?
Please disclose any conflicts of interest that should be mentioned in relation to your article or book idea.
Terms & Conditions 2026 – please read carefully.
You can read more about what we’re looking for here.
