The Quetelet Journal warmly invites population scientists to submit an abstract for consideration for the Demog-Crazy 2026 Award by April Fools Day 2026. Authors of shortlisted abstracts will be required to submit their full paper by 1st July 2026.

Inspired by the spirit of Belgian surrealism, the Demog-Crazy Award celebrates and publishes a scholarly article in population sciences that initially amuses readers with its title and summary, but ultimately provokes thoughtful engagement and inspires further reading. The award underscores the idea that even research in demography that appears unconventional or absurd can yield valuable theoretical or methodological contributions.

Would your article stand a chance—or is it firmly not in the running for the Demog-Crazy Award? No problem! RQJ welcomes original contributions in the traditional empirical format, as well as papers adopting unconventional approaches. These include theoretical literature reviews, methodological studies, “data papers”, advocacy for heterodox or controversial perspectives, reports on negative results, replication of previously published findings, descriptive analyses of new data, studies using unusual datasets, mixed-methods research, and more. In all cases, your submission is most welcome!