Nine Dots Prize 2025 ($100,000 award)

Calling all innovative thinkers and writers! The prestigious Nine Dots Prize is now accepting submissions for its fifth cycle, challenging participants to address the thought-provoking question: “Is Data Failing Us?” The Nine Dots Prize rewards original thinking in response to contemporary societal issues. Each Prize cycle lasts two years, with a new question being announced every other October.

The Prize is sponsored by the Kadas Prize Foundation with support from CRASSH at the University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Press.

Prizes of Nine Dots Prize

• A $100,000 award, paid in three installments
• Opportunity to expand your ideas into a short book (25,000-40,000 words)
• Editorial support from Cambridge University Press
• One academic term at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) at the University of Cambridge
• Potential for significant exposure and impact in addressing contemporary societal issues

Check : Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Challenge 2025

Eligibility for Nine Dots Prize

• All those 18 years of age and over are welcome to enter but responses and the resulting book must be in English.
• They are looking for innovative thinking, whether this comes from new voices or from experienced authors.
• The Prize’s heartland is in the analysis of contemporary society and societal challenges, and they welcome responses that draw on all disciplines and cross-discipline thinking.
• Joint entries will be considered, although proposals that put forward a number of authors all contributing single sections (such as an edited collection) will not be accepted.

Also Check : Royal Society Africa Prize 2025 (£2,000 prize)

Application

You will need to submit 3 documents:

• Summary: A summary response to the set question, which must be no more than 3,000 words in length. Should you win the Prize, you will be required to develop this summary into a short book of between 25,000 and 40,000 words. The summary should cover the main ideas and arguments your proposed book will make, the evidence and research on which it draws and the key conclusions it will reach.
• Outline: An outline structure of this short book, including provisional chapter headings. This must be no more than 1,000 words and will show how you see your response expanding into a complete book and how you would develop your arguments, should you be successful. It is an opportunity to prove that there is enough depth to your arguments to provide content for an entire book.
• Justification: A justification statement of your ability to complete the book in the time given. This must be no more than 1,000 words, and will outline your previous experience in communicating effectively about evidence, research and ideas, and a commitment from you that your responsibilities will allow the book to be completed in the seven month period.

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