ASEEES First Book Subvention Program

In 2014, the ASEEES Board of Directors voted to dedicate $10,000 per year from the Association’s endowment dividends for subvention of books by first-time authors who have already secured publishing contracts. Multiple awards of up to $2,500 will be made on a competitive basis each year, with funds paid directly to the press.

A multidisciplinary committee of senior scholars will evaluate applications; the committee will also include a publishing professional as a non-voting member who will advise on budgetary matters. In deciding how to allocate these funds, the committee takes into account both the scholarly significance of the book and the demonstrated need for subvention support. Applications are invited from all disciplines.

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Eligibility

1. Authors must be regular or student members of ASEEES for the year of the application submission plus at least one prior year (current affiliate or joint members are not eligible). 
2. Subventions will only be awarded for individually authored first books. (Multiple authored books are not eligible; an applicant who has already published an edited collection will not be disqualified.)
3. Manuscripts must be in English and, in the view of the selection committee, make a substantial scholarly contribution to Slavic, East European, and/or Eurasian Studies. English translations of first books published initially in another language will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
4. The Press must agree to acknowledge subvention support from ASEEES in the front matter of the book, and to provide ASEEES with a copy of the finished work upon publication. The acknowledgement to ASEEES should read as follows: “Publication of this book was made possible, in part, by a grant from the First Book Subvention Program of the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies.” 
5. The press must agree to submit a brief itemized report on how subvention funds were spent within two months of the book’s publication date.
6. Applicants must actively seek funding from additional sources, including the author’s home institution; ASEEES prefers to split subvention costs with other institutions whenever possible.
7. A press may submit no more than 2 applications per cycle (including resubmissions).

Application Guidelines

1. Applications should be made for manuscripts that have already been contracted and peer reviewed in full, and are at or nearing the production stage. Applications should be submitted by publishers only—not by authors.
2. A publisher may submit no more than 2 applications per cycle (including resubmissions).
3. The publisher should submit the application using the online application form.
4. A complete application should also include:
   • An overview of the book and its scholarly significance (not to exceed 1,500 words).
   • A copy of the author’s CV.
   • The manuscript’s Contents page and two sample chapters, complete with references. (One of these samples should be the Introduction, if applicable.)
   • A copy of all peer reviews of the book obtained by the press, along with the author’s responses. The names of reviewers may be withheld, provided that the publisher certifies that the reviewers are established scholars who are not from the same institution as the author.
5. Decisions of the selection committee are final and will be announced 4-6 weeks after each deadline. Funds will be disbursed at the time of award and should be expended within two years at the most.

Deadline

There are two annual deadlines for applications: February 1 and  September 1. 

Selection Committee

Brigid O’Keeffe, Brooklyn College, 2022-2024, Chair

Molly Brunson, Yale U, 2023-2025

Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern, Northwestern U, 2024-2026 

Gwen Walker, U of Wisconsin, 2021-2024 (non-voting member)