Lutheran Quarterly Annual Essay Prize for Young Scholars

Amount: $5,000

Deadline: awarded annually 2024 – 2033

The purpose of the Lutheran Quarterly Annual Essay Prize is to nurture and reward young scholars in Lutheran history and theology for their contributions toward making the Lutheran Reformation known to the contemporary church.  One prize of $5,000 will be awarded annually 2024–2033.

Authors submitting essays for this Prize will contribute a standard journal-length (6,000 to 7,000 words) essay compatible with the stated goals of Lutheran Quarterly: “The aims of the New Series are unchanged: to provide a forum 1) for the discussion of Christian faith and life on the basis of the Lutheran confession; 2) for the application of the principles of the Lutheran church to the changing problems of religion and society; 3) for the fostering of world Lutheranism, and 4) for the promotion of understanding between Lutherans and other Christians.”

This Essay Prize is intended to encourage a cohort of younger scholars devoted to the history and theology of the Lutheran tradition, with the anticipation that this will strengthen both the church and the academy.  Candidates for this prize should either be currently working on their dissertations or be newly minted PhDs, making their initial submission within five years of earning the degree. 

The submitted essays are first entered into the normal, double-blind peer review process for possible publication.  There is no specific deadline for submission but rather a rolling process of consideration for a decade of annual prizes.  The finalists annually are those essays that are in fact published in Lutheran Quarterly over a given year, according to the normal peer review and editorial process.  The criteria for the winning essay include that it should be grounded biblically, historically, and confessionally, display vigorous writing and original scholarship, and convey significance for contemporary readers.  The winning essay will be selected by the editorial staff of Lutheran Quarterly, chaired by the editor.  If there is no eligible essay published in a given year, that year’s prize will be postponed one year.

Submissions and questions should be directed to Editor Paul Rorem, paul.rorem@ptsem.edu.  For more information, see the Lutheran Quarterly website.