Prizes

SST is pleased to present, in association with its partners, a number of annual prizes that recognise and celebrate cutting-edge work in theology. Details of prizes currently offered are below.

Colin Gunton-John Webster Memorial Prize

The Society for the Study of Theology and the International Journal of Systematic Theology award an annual essay prize in memory of Colin Gunton and John Webster.

Because the prize celebrates the contributions of Colin Gunton and John Webster to constructive Christian theology, essays should function within this same broad sphere. Entry to the competition is restricted to current students and to those within 3 years of their doctoral graduation at the closing date. Entries will be judged on academic merit. The winner of the prize each year will be invited to attend the annual conference of the SST the following year, where a presentation will be made as a part of the conference reception. The winning essay will be published in the IJST; other competition entries may also be considered for publication.

Essays must follow the ‘Submission Requirements for Journal Articles’ found on the inside back cover of the IJST and on the Journal’s website, with the additional proviso that there is an absolute word limit on entries of 8000 words including footnotes. Essays should not include the author’s name, be under consideration for publication elsewhere, or have been published previously.

The prize for 2024 was awarded to Noah Karger of the University of Notre Dame for his essay entitled ‘Dionysian Synaxis as the Link to Love Beyond’. The prize for 2025 was awarded to Joel Putnam for “John Owen and the Future of Spirit Christology”. The SST and the IJST would like to offer their congratulations to the winners, and their thanks to all who entered.

Please note that this competition will not run in 2026 but will reopen in 2027.

Black Theology

In association with the International Journal of Black Theology

• 1 year subscription to Black Theology: An International Journal

• £100 of books from Taylor and Francis/Routledge

• The winning essay will be published in Black Theology: An International Journal

• 5,000 words max excluding references
• An abstract of between 100 and 150 words
• 5-8 keywords
• Footnotes, using the Chicago style
• A bibliography

• Emilie Townes – Breaking the Fine Rain of Death
• Selina Stone – A Heavy Yoke
• Carlton Turner – Overcoming Self Negation 

• How do Black and Womanist theologies best encounter, reinterpret, or resist the failures of dominant theological frameworks, institutions, and socio-political systems?
• What potential barriers exist to Black and Womanist theologies reflecting well on their own failures and those of their communities?