The Society for Textual Scholarship

The STS awards up to three student or student–mentor prizes each year, depending on the number, level, and distinction of submissions received in a given cycle. Submissions are evaluated by a committee appointed by the STS Executive Board according to criteria including scholarly rigor, originality, contribution to the field, methodological clarity, and the quality of mentorship. Prize recipients will be announced at the Society’s annual conference and recognized on the STS website. Each award carries an honorarium of $250 and a complimentary one-year membership in STS.

The deadline for submissions is March 15, 2027.

The Jerome J. McGann and Kenneth M. Price Graduate Prize in Textual Studies

The Jerome J. McGann and Kenneth M. Price Graduate Prize in Textual Studies honors a graduate student whose research demonstrates exceptional promise in the field of textual studies.

Eligible projects may engage any area of textual scholarship, including textual studies, editing and editorial theory, digital and electronic textualities, and analyses of textual culture/s across historical periods, languages, and media. The Society welcomes submissions that explore the ideological structures and material processes that shape the creation, transmission, reception, production, and interpretation of texts in the broadest sense.

Work from across the disciplines represented in STS is encouraged, including but not limited to literature, history, musicology, classical and biblical studies, ethnic studies, women’s/gender/LGBTQ+ studies, philosophy, art history, legal history, the history of science and technology, computer science, book history, bibliography, media studies, lexicography, epigraphy, paleography, codicology, cinema studies, theater, linguistics, and textual or literary theory.

Eligibility Requirements

Graduate Student:

• Must have completed all or most of the project while enrolled in a master’s or doctoral program.
• Work must have been completed within the last two academic years.
• Projects may arise from coursework, theses/dissertations, digital initiatives, editorial work, or independent study.

Project Scope:

• Must relate to the Society’s mission and fall within the broad fields of textual scholarship, editorial theory, digital textualities, or the study of textual culture/s.
• Projects/essays on any textual culture are welcome. To ensure the ability of the committee to evaluate submissions based on scholarly rigor, originality, impact on the field, and methodological clarity, all written materials must be submitted in one of the following languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, or Portuguese.

Nominators:

Nominations may be submitted by the student, graduate advisor, or a third party familiar with the work.

Submission Guidelines

Submission Packet:

Must include:

1. Project or Work Sample. For written work: up to 30 pages (or a complete essay of reasonable length). For digital projects: a stable URL and a 2–3 page description of the project’s goals, methodology, and student/mentor roles. For editions or archival projects: representative samples with explanatory notes.
2. Nomination Letter (2 pages max). Describes the project’s significance
3. Graduate Student Statement (1–2 pages). Offers a brief description of the timeline and circumstances of the project’s development as well as a brief statement of your research goals and scholarly/methodological context(s)
4. CV

Submission Method:

All materials must be submitted as a single PDF (or PDF plus URL) through the STS online submission portal or via the designated prize email address.

Deadline:

Submissions due 15 March 2027. Late materials cannot be considered.

Evaluation:

A committee appointed by the STS Executive Board will evaluate submissions based on scholarly rigor, originality, impact on the field, methodological clarity, and the quality of mentorship.

The Daniel E. Balderston and H. Wayne Storey Graduate Textual Scholar and Mentor Award

The Daniel E. Balderston and H. Wayne Storey Graduate Textual Scholar and Mentor Award recognizes exemplary work in textual scholarship produced through an outstanding graduate student–mentor collaboration. This award honors both the graduate student, whose research demonstrates exceptional promise in the field of textual studies, and the mentor, whose guidance and support embody the Society for Textual Scholarship’s longstanding commitment to nurturing new voices in the field.

Eligible projects may engage any area of textual scholarship, including textual studies, editing and editorial theory, digital and electronic textualities, and analyses of textual culture/s across historical periods, languages, and media. The Society welcomes submissions that explore the ideological structures and material processes that shape the creation, transmission, reception, production, and interpretation of texts in the broadest sense.

Work from across the disciplines represented in STS is encouraged, including but not limited to literature, history, musicology, classical and biblical studies, ethnic studies, women’s/gender/LGBTQ+ studies, philosophy, art history, legal history, the history of science and technology, computer science, book history, bibliography, media studies, lexicography, epigraphy, paleography, codicology, cinema studies, theater, linguistics, and textual or literary theory.
This award celebrates collaborative research relationships that model excellence in mentorship, intellectual curiosity, methodological rigor, and the future of textual scholarship.

Eligibility Requirements

Graduate Student:

• Must have completed all or most of the project while enrolled in a master’s or doctoral program.
• Work must have been completed within the last two academic years.
• Projects may arise from coursework, theses/dissertations, digital initiatives, editorial work, or independent study.

Mentor:

• May be a faculty member, librarian/archivist, research director, or other qualified academic mentor who played a substantive advisory role.
• Need not be a member of the Society for Textual Scholarship, although membership is strongly encouraged.

Project Scope:

• Must relate to the Society’s mission and fall within the broad fields of textual scholarship, editorial theory, digital textualities, or the study of textual culture/s.
• Collaborative projects/essays on any textual culture are welcome. To ensure the ability of the committee to evaluate submissions based on scholarly rigor, originality, impact on the field, and methodological clarity, all written materials must be submitted in one of the following languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, or Portuguese.
• Collaborative work is welcome, but the graduate student’s contribution should be clearly identifiable.

Nominators:

Nominations may be submitted by the student, mentor, or a third party familiar with the work.

Submission Guidelines

Submission Packet:

Must include:

1. Project or Work Sample. For written work: up to 30 pages (or a complete essay of reasonable length). For digital projects: a stable URL and a 2–3 page description of the project’s goals, methodology, and student/mentor roles. For editions or archival projects: representative samples with explanatory notes.
2. Nomination Letter (2 pages max). Describes the project’s significance and the nature of the mentoring relationship.
3. Graduate Student Statement (1–2 pages). Offers a brief description of the timeline and circumstances of the project’s development as well as a brief statement of your research goals and scholarly/methodological context(s). The statement should also highlight the student’s individual contributions.
4. Mentor Statement (1–2 pages). Explains mentoring practices and the collaborative process.
5. CVs of both student and mentor (2 pages each).

Submission Method:

All materials must be submitted as a single PDF (or PDF plus URL) through the STS online submission portal or via the designated award email address.

Deadline:

Submissions due 15 March 2027. Late materials cannot be considered.

Evaluation:

A committee appointed by the STS Executive Board will evaluate submissions based on scholarly rigor, originality, impact on the field, methodological clarity, and the quality of mentorship.

The Robin G. Schulze and Suzanne Gossett Undergraduate Prize in Textual Scholarship

The Robin G. Schulze and Suzanne Gossett Undergraduate Prize in Textual Scholarship recognizes an exceptional undergraduate student whose work advances the Society for Textual Scholarship’s mission to investigate and illuminate the creation, transmission, and interpretation of texts.

Eligible work may take the form of a research essay, micro critical edition, digital project, archival or bibliographic study, or any scholarly endeavor that demonstrates intellectual engagement with textual studies, editorial practice, textual theory, or textual culture. Projects may address textuality across a wide range of disciplines and media, reflecting the interdisciplinary character of STS and the diverse communities it serves.

The Society encourages submissions from students working in literature, history, musicology, classical and biblical studies, ethnic studies, women’s/gender/LGBTQ+ studies, philosophy, art history, legal history, the history of science and technology, computer science, book history, bibliography, media studies, lexicography, epigraphy, paleography, codicology, cinema studies, theater, linguistics, and theoretical approaches to textuality.

This prize fosters and honors emerging scholars whose work demonstrates originality, rigor, and a commitment to understanding the material and ideological dimensions of texts—broadly and inventively conceived.

Eligibility

Undergraduate Status:

• Open to students enrolled in an undergraduate program at the time the work was completed.
• Work must have been completed during the current or previous academic year.

Project Scope:

• Projects may include research essays, editorial work, digital humanities projects, bibliographic or archival studies, or other scholarly endeavors aligned with STS’s mission.
• Individual or collaborative projects are eligible, but each contributor’s independent contribution must be clear.
• Projects/essays on any textual culture are welcome. To ensure the ability of the committee to evaluate submissions based on scholarly rigor, originality, impact on the field, and methodological clarity, all written materials must be submitted in one of the following languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, or Portuguese.

Nominators:

Students may self-nominate, or be nominated by faculty, librarians, archivists, or program directors.

Submission Guidelines

Submission Packet:

Must include:

1. Project or Work Sample. For written work: up to 20 pages, or a complete essay if shorter. For digital/creative projects: a URL + 1–2 page project overview.
2. Faculty Nomination or Endorsement Letter (1 page). Note: If self-nominating, the student must secure a brief endorsement from a faculty member or mentor.
3. Student Statement (1–2 pages). Explains the project’s goals, methods, scholarly context, and personal engagement with textual scholarship.
4. Student CV (1 page).

Submission Method:

All materials must be submitted as a single PDF (or PDF plus URL) through the STS online submission portal or award email.

Deadline:

Submissions due 15 March 2027. Late materials cannot be considered.

Evaluation:

A committee of STS members will assess the submissions based on originality, clarity, methodological soundness, and contribution to the understanding of textuality.