The Humanities Center Book Publishing Lab

The Humanities Center is pleased to announce the Book Publishing Lab, a new and competitive program for tenured or tenure-track faculty members in humanities fields, designed to support and expedite the publication of original scholarly monographs. The Book Publishing Lab will support two Faculty Fellowships, providing selected Fellows with the opportunity to workshop a publication-ready version of a manuscript-in-progress with two notable scholars in their field and an acquisitions editor from a prominent scholarly press.  

Interested and eligible faculty members should only apply if they have a complete or near-complete book manuscript ready for review.  Interested and eligible faculty members should be advised that selected Book Publishing Lab Fellows will be expected to dedicate at least 10 hours of time during the spring semester toward in-person and virtual consultations with selected scholars and editors. In addition, selected Book Publishing Lab Fellows will be expected to attend at least one of the guest speaking engagements provided by the consultants for the larger TTU community.

To apply, interested and eligible faculty members should submit:

·       A 500-word brief description of the book project, including detailed explanation of its invention in the applicant’s field(s) of study;

·       A book prospectus (maximum 10 pages) offering a more detailed overview of the book. The prospectus should articulate the project’s intended audience, its scholarly invention, comparable scholarly books, full chapter descriptions, and a detailed statement of the project’s status toward completion.

·       A current CV.

·       A list of ten proposed external reviewers to be considered as potential consultants.

·       A list of three relevant scholarly presses for the project. Applicants should also state if there is a specific series from that press appropriate to the project.

·       A one-page letter of support from the department chair, school director, or area coordinator, to include a description of how selection as a Fellow in the Book Publishing Lab would enhance the faculty member’s application for tenure and/or promotion.

These documents should be collated as one unified PDF with the title format “FacultySurnameBPL2025” and emailed to humanitiescenter@ttu.edu by 11:59pm on December 15, 2024.

The Humanities Center’s Advisory Board will review all submitted applications and will recommend two selected faculty members to the Provost and Vice Provost for Faculty Success. Selected faculty members will be notified by January 10, 2025.