The Association for the Study of Persianate Societies announces its second biennial Graduate Student Prize, intended to encourage and recognise outstanding scholarship on the broader Persianate world by graduate student members of ASPS. Applicants are invited to submit original, unpublished work to the Journal of Persianate Studies by 16 August 2026.
Based on the creativity of the topic and sources, originality of analysis, and overall scholarly contribution, the ASPS prize committee will select a winner, to be announced at the ASPS virtual graduate student conference (25 September 2026). The winning paper will be published in the Journal of Persianate Studies, subject to any revisions required by the editorial office. The winner will also be invited to present at the biennial ASPS conference in Dushanbe (09–12 August 2027) and will receive partial funding from ASPS to support attendance. Runners-up may also be considered for publication.
The Journal of Persianate Studies is a peer-reviewed publication of the Association for the Study of Persianate Societies. It publishes research on the culture and civilisation of regions where Persian has historically functioned as a dominant language or major cultural force, including Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, as well as the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, and parts of the former Ottoman Empire.
Eligibility: Graduate students who, at the time of submission, are members of ASPS, have not received their doctorate, and have submitted an abstract to the 2026 ASPS virtual graduate student conference.
Application procedure: Submissions must fall within the scope of JPS, be original and previously unpublished, and conform to JPS style and citation guidelines: https://brill.com/fileasset/downloads_products/Author_Instructions/JPS.pdf. Applicants should submit via Editorial Manager (https://www.editorialmanager.com/JPSBRILL), selecting ‘Graduate Student Prize’ as the article type. Submission constitutes acknowledgement of participation in the ASPS/JPS Graduate Student Prize and agreement not to withdraw the paper from publication if selected. Questions may be addressed to the chair of the prize committee and JPS Associate Editor, D Gershon Lewental (lewental@bgu.ac.il).
