All PhD students/early career researchers are welcome and encouraged to write for the blog, including outside of Manchester! We have two streams of blog posts we are looking for: 

• Research/Science Communication: Pitched to a general audience, covering your research or research field. It could be anything from a general background to new results.
• PhD Experience/Life: Posts for other PhD researchers covering topics including PhD advice, opportunities for researchers and wellbeing.

The majority of our current posts are linked to The University of Manchester, but we welcome submissions from other institutions that don’t have a similar space to post on!

You do not need to have any experience with blogging. We are here to learn and improve together! The team are here to help you form a plan and get it into writing.

It’s worth noting that blogging has several benefits. You can gain written communication skills for your CV, show your interest in science communication, and network with other PhD researchers. 

Getting Started

We have a general writing guide here, but the general pipeline is:

1. Email an editor or relevant sub-editor with your plan for an article.
2. If it fits the scope of the blog and isn’t too similar to an existing post, you can write a draft and send it to the editor.
3. The editor will either give feedback and suggestions or get it formatted into the blog with spelling/grammar corrections.
4. Your post will be published, and we invite you to share it all over social media.

Additionally, we have this guide on different styles and angles for your post. Take a look for an analysis of current blog posts and why they work well.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Writer Prizes

Submitted articles will be automatically considered for our writer prizes. The winner is selected based on the number of views and interactions the post receives in the first 2 weeks of publication. We encourage authors to share their own articles across their networks to increase their chances!

Past winners:

SUMMER 2024:
Winner: Isabella Hubbard – Scorpionism
Runner-up 1: Rebecca Light – Vaccine Hesitancy
Runner-up 2: Sayema Khan – A guide for writing research papers

AUTUMN 2024:
Winner: Cherene de Bruyn – Starting Strong: Productivity Tips
Runner-up 1: Erin Pallott – Bullying in Academia
Runner-up 2: Nina Wycech – Experiences as an Autistic student