Entrants are invited for the new Popular Music Essay Competition.

Entrants should address the following theme:

Questioning popular music orthodoxies

Essays may engage with any established popular music orthodoxy (whether the assumptions of critics and scholars or the habits of music makers and their audiences). Essays should provoke debate about the established practice and study of popular music, and may propose new approaches and practices.

The winning essay will be published in Popular Music and the winner will receive £500.

The essay should be no longer than 3000 words and must be in the Popular Music house style (see the Popular Music website for details).

It should be submitted by September 15th 2011 to the Popular Music Editorial Group at: PMEssayCompetition@gmail.com

The essays will be judged by the Editorial Group and the International Advisory Board of Popular Music.