2026 Topic: ‘Identity, Assimilation and Survival: Street food as a Lens to Migration’
The Indian Culinary Agenda invites any Indian national with an interest in the food history of the Indian Subcontinent to submit a paper for consideration. The topic of the ICA Writing Prize 2026 is ‘Identity, Assimilation and Survival : Street food as a Lens to Migration’.
The deadline for submitting the final paper for the ICA Weekend is 31 March 2026.
ABOUT THE THEME
The theme for the ICA Food Writing Prize 2026 is ‘Identity, Assimilation and Survival: Street food as a Lens to Migration’.
Food on Indian streets is a stand-alone, well-established school of culinary culture in itself and offers understanding of food and urban existence in not just within the country but that of the sub-continent with rest of the world. Today street food is not just what one sells and eats on the streets but also what inspires the idea of Indian culinary tradition outside of the streets and the country. On one hand, the historical evolution of street food in our cities provides insights into socio-economic dynamics, regional diversities and history of migration and assimilation of communities. On the other hand, massive urbanization has made the examination of street food crucial for understanding the changing economies, population patterns, and urban planning and policy of our cities.
Migration has been a key driver of culinary evolution and as people migrate, and interact with local cuisines, it creates new, hybrid food cultures and food systems. While various aspects of the culinary culture of South Asia and India are receiving enough research interest, there exists a notable gap on the research and writing related to the importance of the culture of street food especially in relation to state and megacities. Street food plays a major role in defining the physical nature of spaces and interaction between multiple communities over timelines in our urban spaces – all these and much more provide ample pathways to investigate our relationship with milk and dairy.
We encourage writers to think about and prosecute the topic from a wide array of disciplines and perspectives, ranging from art and the humanities, to the social sciences, to the realms of the policy-maker and, especially, the practitioner in the street kitchens. We, however, would like you to build the paper around the topic’s interaction with food and cookery vis-à-vis other factors surrounding it.
01 December 2025 – Submissions open for paper proposals
31 December 2025 – Paper proposal submission deadline
10 2026 January – Confirmation of paper acceptance
10 April 2026 – Deadline for submitting final paper for the ICA Weekend
18 March 2026 – The Indian Culinary Agenda Weekend and Announcement of the ICA Prize for Indian Food Writing
Post-ICA Weekend Late April – Final revised paper due for consideration for publication
All persons, above the age of 18, and holding Indian citizenship (resident in India or abroad) are eligible to submit. As we are trying to provide a platform for emerging voices and writers, authors who have previously published a book(s) need not apply. Those with published academic, semi-academic and/or media work are eligible for entry.
The Indian Culinary Agenda will identify and encourage diverse and new voices and narratives in research and writing on the food history and culture of the Indian subcontinent. To encourage deeper research and documentation of the rich food culture of the land, ICA announced the first ever prize in India on semi-academic writing in Indian food history and culture in 2024. The author of the winning paper will be announced at the ICA Weekend, and awarded a cash prize of Rs. 50,000.
All the finalists will be awarded a certificate and a chance to present their papers at the ICA Weekend.
Your paper proposal should be submitted to connect@indianculinaryagenda.org. The proposal should be between 500-750 words and needs to –
- a) outline your central theme and key points,
- b) describe the scope of your research, and
- c) explain why your paper makes an original and compelling contribution in examination of the topic.
We will accept one submission per author.
Your final paper should be in MS-WORD document file format (Font Times New Roman, Size-12pt.) along with tables, figures, digital photo etc. Paper submissions may include illustrations, and additional illustrations can be included in your presentation. Submissions should be sent to connect@indianculinaryagenda.org
The Editorial Committee will ensure that a broad range of subjects within the year’s topic is presented. These should reflect diversity of geography, culture, communities and time periods.
Ten successful proposals will be chosen by our editorial committee. If you have any doubt about the suitability of a proposed paper topic, please contact the editor for clarification before the deadline by emailing Angshuman Choudhury at angshuman.ch93@gmail.com.
A Jury of prominent Food Writers will select the three best papers from the accepted submissions.
If your proposal is accepted, your draft paper is due by 10 April 2026.
There is a strict 5000-word limit, which excludes a brief abstract, footnotes and bibliographies. There is no minimum length for a paper: quality, scholarship, and originality will be considered more important than length. Paper submissions may include illustrations.
Notes should appear as endnotes following the text.
Authors should follow the Style Guide of the Modern Humanities Research Association, which is available here. For this year, we apologise for being unable to take submissions in any language other than English.
After the conclusion of the ICA Weekend, authors will have the opportunity to work with our Editorial Team to revise their papers for the online ICA Compendium.
The paper should be original work, and authors will be required to sign a Representation and Indemnification form prior to publication. By submitting a paper to the ICA, authors agree that the ICA has the right to publish the paper in the ICA Compendium, ‘Identity, Assimilation and Survival : Street food as a Lens to Migration.
We encourage all finalist authors to attend the ICA Weekend and the ICA Dinner in New Delhi on 18 April 2025. The top three finalist authors will present their papers in person; we won’t be able to accommodate online presentations. For all other finalists, their papers will be converted to posters for display at the ICA Weekend which will provide opportunity for interaction with guests and dignitaries at the ICA Weekend.
Authors are required to send a presentation based on their paper (no more than 15 minutes) on or before 15 April 2026. Our Editorial Team will work with the authors in revising the presentations, if required, to adapt them into the standard proceeding format of the ICA Weekend.
Any additional AV materials accompanying your presentation must be submitted no later than 15 April 2026 and copies must be brought to the ICA Weekend by authors.
Authors will present their papers during the panel session on 18 April 2026. We encourage them to go beyond their draft written paper to present their ideas, additional research material, and interesting anecdotal information that may be supported by AV material if needed, rather than just reading their papers.
Paper proposals will be evaluated by the Editorial Team without regard to the proposer’s ability to attend the ICA Weekend.
Since our resources are limited, if you are travelling from outside, we will not be able to support the travel expenses for the authors to and from New Delhi, local travel expenses and cost of staying in New Delhi. If you wish to book accommodation at a subsidized rate at or near the ICA Weekend venue, please contact us at connect@indianculinaryagenda.org for support.
Authors will, however, be exempted from paying the registration fees for attending the ICA Weekend and the Gala Dinner.
For any further queries, please contact us at connect@indianculinaryagenda.org