Awarded biennially for the best first monograph in Romantic Studies, this prize is open to first monographs published between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2025. The prize will be awarded at the ‘Romantic Retrospection’ conference at the University of Birmingham in 2026. In keeping with the remit of the British Association for Romantic Studies, the prize is designed to encourage and recognise original, ground-breaking, and interdisciplinary work in the literature and culture of the period c. 1780-1830. The prize is awarded to the value of £300.
The BARS Executive has appointed a panel of judges consisting of: Susan Civale (Canterbury Christ Church University); Daisy Hay (University of Exeter); Andrew McInnes (Edge Hill University); Cleo O’Callaghan Yeoman (University of Stirling); Emily Paterson-Morgan (The Byron Society); Amy Wilcockson (Queen Mary University of London). The panel is chaired by Ross Wilson (University of Cambridge).
Eligibility, Nomination, and Submission
The prize is open to scholarly monographs published in English by authors who have not published a monograph before. Books may be nominated by publishers, by members of BARS, or by authors themselves, using the form at the link below. Nominations should attest to the significance of the book’s scholarly contribution, detailing its particular strengths and describing the nature of its originality in no more than 300 words. To ensure this remains a prize for Early Career Academics, the book’s official date of publication will be no later than 10 years after the award of the author’s PhD.
Please use the below nomination form:
Deadlines
Nomination forms, accompanied by e-copies or hardcopies of the book submitted, should be received by the chair of the panel no later than 12th January 2026. Successful entrants will be notified shortly prior to the ‘Romantic Retrospection’ conference where the prize itself will be awarded.
Email address for all submissions and queries: barsfirstbook@english.cam.ac.uk.
Postal address for hardcopies of books: Prof. Ross Wilson, Emmanuel College, St Andrew’s Street, Cambridge, CB2 3AP.