ACLA First Book Subvention Program

The ACLA Executive Board is pleased to announce our new First Book Subvention Program. This program is designed for ACLA-member authors who require subventions to ensure publication of their first books. The ACLA will award up to $10,500 in subventions each year with up to three awards of $3,500 each.  These subventions will be awarded on a competitive basis to first-time book authors. Applicants who have already secured provisional contracts from established academic presses will be given special consideration, but a provisional contract is not a requirement for the award. Subventions will be paid directly to the press.

The deadline is January 30.

Subvention applications are now welcomed according to the following criteria: 1. The applicant must be a current ACLA member and have held ACLA membership for AT LEAST TWO YEARS prior to application (exception; if you were previously an ACLA member for at least two years and your membership has lapsed within the last twelve months and you rejoin, you will still be eligible). 2. The book in question must be the applicant's first individually-authored book (an applicant who was the editor of a previously published edited volume is eligible to apply). 3. The applicant may have a completed manuscript with a provisional contract from an established press or may be seeking a contract.  Those seeking a contract must list the presses where they plan to send their proposal and the subvention will only be awarded to a press on the list.  Exceptions may be made in rare cases, but only with prior approval of the publications committee. 4. The manuscript must be in English, must make a substantial contribution to the field of Comparative Literature, and must be based on primary research in the appropriate languages. 5. The press must agree to acknowledge an ACLA subvention in the front matter of the published book. 6. To receive payment, the press must agree to provide a written report on the publication of the book.  This report should be sent by e-mail to abeecrof@mailbox.sc.edu.

Application Process: Applications should consist of the following items and be submitted electronically to ACLA publications committee chair, Sophia A. McClennen, sophia.mcclennen@gmail.com. 1. A completed application form. 2. The applicant's Curriculum Vitae. 3. A standard humanities book proposal that includes a short description, a summary of the manuscript in no more than 1,000 words, chapter summaries, as well as information on the book’s relationship to the field, market, and methods. 4. A complete manuscript. 5. A letter of support from a member of the field who is not affiliated with the applicant’s degree granting institution, current place of employment, or dissertation committee.  The letter should be sent directly to the publications committee chair by the recommender. Applications will be reviewed by the ACLA publications committee in consultation with the Executive Board. Decisions will be final.

 

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