The European Society of Comparative Literature/Société Européenne de Littérature Comparée ESCL/SELC invites editors of academic volumes to present their application for the ESCL Excellence Award for Collaborative Research, to be awarded for an outstanding edited volume which makes an original contribution to the field of Comparative Literature.
The Excellence Award consists of a single cash prize of 500 € given to the editor(s) of the volume, and certificates offered to both the editor(s) and the contributors. Candidates who are on the short-list will be informed in March 2026.
Eligibility Criteria
The award will be attributed to an edited volume in comparative literature of 80,000 words minimum: for instance, a collection of articles, of book chapters or a special issue of an academic journal. The volumes need to have already undergone a rigorous peer-review process.
Its publication date must be comprised between July 31, 2023 and July 31, 2025. The volume needs to be either originally written in English or in French (the two communication languages of ESCL), or to have been translated into one of these languages.
This award will consider volumes with a strong connection to at least one European literature, which adopt a comparative approach and analyse texts from two or more different literary cultures, languages, mediums (painting, photography, film AND literature, for example) or disciplines (philosophy, sociology, photography AND literature for example).
Publishers, editors and contributors are allowed to propose a volume to the award. The editor of the submitted volume must be a member of the ESCL at the time of submission.
Ineligible works
Individual articles, standard journal issues that do not meet the required comparatist approach and length, single-authored monographs, conference proceedings without significant editorial input and substantial changes to the original presentations and reference works such as encyclopaedias will not be accepted. Only one submission per editor is accepted.
A note on conference proceedings
Please note that conference presentations can serve as the basis of an edited volume, but the presentations need to be reworked for the purposes of scholarly publication. Additional articles solicited for the purpose of a themed volume are a particularly productive way to ensure the standards of a scholarly edited volume.
Submission Process
Submissions must be made in electronic form (.pdf), to the following email address: Marijan Dović <marijan.dovic@zrc-sazu.si>
Submissions comprise 3 documents that must be attached as pdfs to the submission email:
1. the edited volume;
2. a letter from the editor(s) introducing the volume and explaining in 200 words how it contributes to the field of comparative literature specifically. This letter should also contain their contact information; and
3. a proof that membership fees have been paid to the ESCL at the moment of submission
The name of the files should start with the last name(s) of the candidate(s) (ex.: VARGAeditedvol.pdf, VARGAletter.pdf)
Timeline
Deadline for submissions: October 31, 2025
Short-list announced: March 2026
Winner announced and prize awarded: SELC/ESCL Congress in Leeds, August 24–28, 2026.