Book Subvention Program

The Medieval Academy Book Subvention Program provides subventions of up to $2,500 to university or other non-profit scholarly presses to support the publication of first books by Medieval Academy members.

Applications for subventions will be accepted only from the publisher and only for books that have already been approved for publication. Eligible Academy members who wish to have their books considered for a subvention should ask their publishers to apply directly to the Academy, following the guidelines outlined below.

Eligibility

To be eligible for consideration for a subvention, the author of the book must be a member of the Medieval Academy who holds a Ph.D. and must be untenured. If employed, the author must certify that the employing institution is unable to provide the full subvention required by the publisher.

The book to be considered for a subvention must be the author's first, must focus substantially on the Middle Ages, must be of high scholarly and intellectual merit, and must have been accepted for publication. Unrevised dissertations will not be considered.

Applications will be accepted from university presses or other non-profit publishers focusing on scholarship. The publisher must have accepted the book for publication based on its merits and must show that the subvention is required in order for the book to be published at a reasonable cost. If a subvention is granted, the publisher must acknowledge the Medieval Academy subvention program on the book's copyright page or on the reverse of the book's title page.

Evaluation

Applications will be evaluated by the Publications Advisory Board. Decisions will be based on two criteria: 1) the quality of the book, and 2) the demonstrated need for financial assistance. Applications from authors and incomplete applications will not be considered.

Applications

The annual application deadline is 1 May. An application should include the following, arranged in order:

1) a cover letter from the publisher requesting the subvention, stating why the book should be published, and certifying that it has been accepted for publication; 2) two or more substantive, analytical readers' reports from knowledgeable scholars who evaluated the book manuscript for the publisher; 3) a brief itemized budget provided by the publisher that details expected costs and revenues for the book and shows how the subvention will be used; 4) a statement by the author confirming that the book is the author's first and that the author is not tenured, and, if the author is employed, certifying that the employer is unable to provide the full required subvention; 5) a two-page single-spaced abstract of the book and a table of contents prepared by the author; and 6) the mail and e-mail addresses and telephone numbers of the publisher's representative and of the author.

Publishers should submit five copies of the application to Book Subvention Program at the address below.

Questions about this program should be directed to the Executive Directors, Eileen Gardiner (egardiner@themedievalacademy.org) or Ronald G. Musto(rgmusto@themedievalacademy.org).