The CEH Prize Competition for 2025 is now open. The deadline is 12 September 2025.

---

The editors of Contemporary European History have established this prize with the aim of encouraging, recognizing and promoting high-quality research among postgraduate and early career scholars.

The winner’s prize will consist of:

• Publication of the winning submission in Contemporary European History
• £400 worth of CUP books

Other entries of quality may be invited to publish their submissions in the journal.

Editorial statement of Contemporary European History

Contemporary European History covers the history of Eastern and Western Europe, including the United Kingdom and European overseas empires, from 1914 to the present. By combining a wide geographical compass with a relatively short time span, it achieves both range and depth in its coverage. It is open to all forms of historical inquiry - including cultural, economic, international, political and social approaches - and welcomes comparative and transnational analysis. The journal publishes research articles, commissioned Spotlight historiographical essays, and review articles. It also publishes roundtables, special issues and forums - collectively known as 'collections' - under the guidance of one or more guest editors. The journal regularly features contributions from scholars outside the Anglophone community and acts as a channel of communication between European historians throughout the continent and beyond it.

The entry requirements and rules for the Contemporary European History Prize are as follows:

• The Prize is open to anyone currently registered for a PhD (or equivalent), or to anyone within 5 years of their PhD viva (excepting career breaks*), without geographic limitation. * We define a career break as any extended period of time during which the applicant is not actively engaged in scholarly research or teaching at a Higher Education Institution. We reserve the right to define which activities constitute a career break.
• Submissions are to be no longer than 8,000 words, excluding footnotes and references.
• The article should be submitted through the journal’s online submission system. 
• When submitting the article, authors should indicate that they wish it to be considered for the Prize by filling in the relevant field ‘CEH Prize’.
• Securing permission for the reproduction of illustrations and quotations from copyrighted material is the responsibility of the author.
• Submissions should conform to the guidelines for authors that appear on the CEH website.
• The closing date for entries will be September each year.
• The prize-winner will be notified in writing by the end of December each year.
• All entries should be accompanied by a short biographical note in a separate document that includes a statement of how the author meets the eligibility requirements for the Prize.
• The submission can be on any topic of European History since 1918, including the history of European empires during this period, provided that it fulfils the requirements of the editorial statement/aims and scope of CEH, as reproduced above.
• Entries submitted to the Contemporary European History Prize must not be under consideration for publication elsewhere.
• Submissions that are intended to be part of a proposed special issue of the journal are not eligible for the Prize.
• Any entry accepted for publication will be published under the journal’s standard copyright policy, and thus acceptance of those terms (the detail of which can be found here) is a condition of entry.
• Entries will be judged by a panel comprised of members of the CEH editorial team.
• The decision of the judges will be final and no correspondence about it will be entered into by the Editors.
• No alternative prizes will be available.
• If in the judges’ opinion, the material submitted is not of a suitable standard, no prize will be awarded.
• Authors other than the prize winner may be invited to publish their work in CEH, if the judges of the Prize consider the work to be of sufficient quality. 
• Any entry eligible for publication will be subjected to the journal’s normal process of blind peer review.

---