Scholarly Editions and Translations grants support the preparation of editions and translations of pre-existing texts and documents of value to the humanities that are currently inaccessible or available in inadequate editions. These grants support full-time or part-time activities for periods of a minimum of one year up to a maximum of three years.
Projects must be undertaken by a team of at least one editor or translator and one other staff member. Grants typically support editions and translations of significant literary, philosophical, and historical materials, but other types of work, such as musical notation, are also eligible.
Applicants should demonstrate familiarity with the best practices recommended by the Association for Documentary Editing [1] or the Modern Language Association Committee on Scholarly Editions [2]. Translation projects should also explain the approach adopted for the particular work to be translated. Editions and translations produced with NEH support contain scholarly and critical apparatus appropriate to the subject matter and format of the edition. This usually means introductions and annotations that provide essential information about the form, transmission, and historical and intellectual context of the texts and documents involved.
Program Statistics
In the last five competitions the Scholarly Editions and Translations program received an average of 71 applications per year. The program made an average of 26 awards per year, for a funding ratio of 37 percent.
The potential applicant pool for Scholarly Editions and Translations is limited, since applicants must assemble project teams with demonstrated expertise in the content of the materials to be edited, the editorial process, and (when applicable) the translation process. On the one hand, this results in a somewhat small number of applications each year. On the other hand, the quality of the applications tends to be high, so that more than a third of all applicants have historically received funding.
The number of application to an NEH grant program can vary widely from year to year, as can the success ratio. Information about the average number of applications and awards in recent competitions is meant only to provide historical context for the current competition. Information on the number of applications and awards in individual competitions is available from editions@neh.gov [3].
Questions?
Contact NEH’s Division of Research Programs at 202-606-8200 and editions@neh.gov [3]. Hearing-impaired applicants can contact NEH via TDD at 1-866-372-2930.