Call for Papers: SCMS Horror Studies SIG Graduate Student Essay Prize
Organization: SCMS Horror Special Interest Group
Call for Papers: SCMS Horror Studies SIG Graduate Student Essay Prize
The SCMS Horror Studies Scholarly Interest Group is delighted to announce that submissions are now open for our annual Graduate Student Essay Prize.
The winning essay will be published in an upcoming issue of Monstrum and the author will receive:
- $500 CAD cash prize, generously supported by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC) and the Collective for Research on Epistemologies and Ontologies of Embodied Risk (CORÉRISC)
- A book of their choice from the University of Wales Press Horror Studies series
We invite original essays (5,000–7,000 words, including notes and references) on horror film and media.
Submission details:
Send a Word document* to horrorstudiessig@gmail.com
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. (CDT), 20 February 2026
Submissions will be anonymously juried, so please remove all identifying information (name, affiliation, acknowledgements, etc.)
*COMPLETED ESSAYS of between 5,000 and 7,000 words, including notes and references, should be submitted in Word .doc or .docx, or shared as a Google Doc, and formatted according to standards set out in the current Chicago Manual of Style.
Eligibility:
- Current graduate students, or those who have graduated within the past 12 months
- Current members of both SCMS and the Horror Studies SIG
- Essays must not be published, forthcoming, or under review elsewhere
We extend our sincere thanks to CORÉRISC, the editors of Monstrum, and the University of Wales Press for their continued support of emerging horror scholarship.
Questions? Get in touch at horrorstudiessig@gmail.com.
We look forward to reading your work—and to celebrating new voices in horror studies.
Dr Rhys Steven Jones