We are pleased to announce our next essay-writing competition. The award is open to all post-graduate research students and to all early career researchers (up to five years after the completion of your PhD) who have yet to find a full-time or tenured position. The prize is guaranteed publication in Foundation in 2026. To be considered for the competition, please submit an original article on any topic, period, theme, author, film or other media within the (broadly defined) field of science fiction and its academic study. Approximate length should be 6000-8000 words. All submitted articles should comply with the guidelines to contributors as set out on the journal pages of the SF Foundation website. Only one article per contributor may be submitted. The deadline for submission is 11 January 2026. All competition entries, with a short (50 word) biography, should be sent to the journal editor at paulmarchrussell@gmail.com. The entries will be judged by the editorial team and the winner will be announced in the spring 2026 issue of Foundation.