About BSA Fellowships

Information about the application process for all BSA Fellowships, including eligibility requirements, and links to the application forms, is available on a separate page on our website:

https://archive.bibsocamer.org/awards/fellowships/apply/

BSA Short-term Fellowships ($3,000) support bibliographical research that focuses on the physical aspects of textual artifacts as historical evidence.  Such artifacts, both tangible and digital, in any field and of any period are eligible for consideration.  Projects may include studying the history of textual production, publication, distribution, collecting, or reading.  Projects to establish a text are also eligible.

The Fredson Bowers Award ($1,500) is funded jointly with the Bibliographical Society of the UK where it is a Major Grant.  Applicants must apply through the Bibliographical Society (UK).

British Book Trades

The Katharine F. Pantzer Senior Fellowship in the British Book Trades ($6,000) supports research by a senior scholar engaged in bibliographical inquiry into the history of the book trades and publishing history in Britain during the hand-press period, as well as studies of authorship, reading, and collecting based on the examination of British books published in that period, with a special emphasis on descriptive bibliography.  This fellowship is intended for senior scholars who have a documented record of research and publication in the field.  Funded by a bequest from Katharine F. Pantzer.

British Book Trades

The Katharine Pantzer Junior Fellowship in the British Book Trades ($3,000) supports bibliographical inquiry into the history of the book trades and publishing history in Britain during the hand-press period, as well as studies of authorship, reading, and collecting based on the examination of British books published in that period, with special emphasis on descriptive bibliography.  This fellowship is intended for early-career scholars.  Funded by a bequest from Katharine F. Pantzer. Apply through the BSA.

Cartography

The Charles J. Tanenbaum Fellowship in Cartographical Bibliography ($3,000) supports projects dealing with all aspects of the history, presentation, printing, design, distribution, and reception of cartographical documents from Renaissance times to the present, with a special emphasis on eighteenth-century cartography.  Funded by the Pine Tree Foundation of New York. Apply through the BSA.

Culinary Arts

The BSA-Pine Tree Foundation Fellowship in Culinary Bibliography ($3,000) supports the bibliographical study of printed and manuscript cookbooks (once commonly known as receipt books); medical recipe books that also contain culinary recipes; other types of books, manuscript, and printed material that include a substantial body of culinary recipes; treatises on and studies of gastronomy; or memoirs, diary accounts, or descriptions of food and cooking.  Projects may cover any period or country.  Funded by the Pine Tree Foundation of New York. Apply through the BSA.

Early Books and Manuscripts

The BSA-Harry Ransom Center Pforzheimer Fellowship in Bibliography (two awards, $3,000 each) supports the bibliographical study of medieval and early modern books and manuscripts held in the Ransom Center’s Pforzheimer Library and its other wide-ranging collections. International and non-US residents are welcome to apply for this fellowship. For more information on this fellowship and to learn more about the Ransom Center, see the Ransom Center’s website. Application is via the BSA’s Kaleidoscope page.

The Eighteenth-Century

The BSA-ASECS Fellowship for Bibliographical Studies in the Eighteenth Century ($3,000).  Recipients must be members of the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies at the time of the award. Apply through the BSA.

Hispanic World

The BSA-Pine Tree Foundation Fellowship in Hispanic Bibliography ($3,000) supports the bibliographical study of printed and manuscript items or the bibliographical study of book and manuscript collections

1) in the Spanish language in any period or country, or

2) in any language but produced or located in Spain or its overseas dominions during the time of Spanish sovereignty.  Funded by the Pine Tree Foundation of New York. Apply through the BSA.

North America

The BSA-St. Louis Mercantile Library Fellowship ($3,000) supports research in North American bibliography, including studies in the North American book trade, production and distribution of North American books, North American book illustration and design, North American collecting and connoisseurship, and North American bibliographical history in general.  Non-traditional and innovative projects will be especially welcome and encouraged.  Funded by the St. Louis Mercantile Library. Apply through the BSA.

Western Hemisphere

The Reese Fellowship for American Bibliography and the History of the Book in the Americas ($3,000) may be awarded to any scholar, whether academic or independent, whose project explores the history of print culture in the Western Hemisphere.  Funded by the William Reese Company. Apply through the BSA.

Black Bibliographers

The Dorothy Porter Wesley Fellowship ($3,000) supports bibliographical study conducted by a Black individual. Building on the Society’s commitment to expanding the representation of scholars of all backgrounds and identities, this short-term fellowship may be used to pursue bibliographical research in any field and of any period.  Projects may include studying the history of book or manuscript production, publication, distribution, collecting, or reading.  Projects to establish a text are also eligible.  The fellowship honors the life and work of Dorothy Porter Wesley (1905-1995), an accomplished Black bibliographer and librarian, an active member of the Society, and author of the influential 1945 PBSA article “Early American Negro Writings.”  Funded by Bruce and Mary Crawford and Barbara A. Shailor in memory of Dorothy Porter Wesley. Apply through the BSA.

Early Career Collections Professionals

The BSA Peck-Stacpoole Fellowship for Early Career Collections Professionals (2 awards, $3,000 each) supports bibliographical research by conservators, curators, librarians, and others who are responsible for institutional collections of textual artifacts, at early stages of their careers. Apply through the BSA.

Midwestern Bibliographers

The Caxton Club Fellowship for Midwestern Bibliographers ($3,000 and a one-year membership in both the Caxton Club and the BSA) supports bibliographical research that focuses on the physical aspects of books or manuscripts as historical evidence.  Books and manuscripts in any field and of any period are eligible for consideration.  Projects may include studying the history of book or manuscript production, publication, distribution, collecting, or reading.  Projects to establish a text are also eligible.  Studies of enumerative bibliographies and enumerative bibliographies are also eligible as long as they meet the requirements described above.  Applicants must live in one of the following states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, or Wisconsin. Apply through the BSA.

Rare Book School Attendees

The BSA-Rare Book School Fellowship funds tuition for one first-year attendee each year at any course offered by Rare Book School at the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville or another location, with an additional grant for travel or housing expenses.  Candidates must apply on the Rare Book School website’s scholarship page.

• Giulia Benghi, “‘Petrarchean’ Dante / ‘Dantean Petrarch’: A Pivotal Shift in XIV-XV Century Editions” (BSA Short Term Fellowship)
• Dagmara Budzioch, “’Esther put on her royal apparel’ (Esther 5:1) – Luxurious Esther Scrolls with “Lace” Borders, Masterpieces of Jewish Art from the 18th-Century Holland” (BSA Short Term Fellowship)
• Jeonghun Choi, “Localization of European Knowledge in 19th century Japan” (BSA Short Term Fellowship)
• Tammy Clemons, “Zines in Appalachia: Exploring Regional Archives of DIY Publications” (The Reese Fellowship for American Bibliography and the History of the Book in the Americas)
• Sonja Drimmer, “Politics and the Heraldic Print” (BSA Short Term Fellowship)
• Julie R. Enszer, “Understanding the Scope and Impact of the Women in Print Movement through Bibliography” (The BSA-St. Louis Mercantile Library Fellowship for Research in North American Bibliography)
• Michael Johnston, “The Popular Literature of Late Medieval England: The Manuscripts of The Prick of Conscience” (The BSA-Caxton Club Fellowship for Midwestern Bibliographers)
• Nicole LaBouff, “The Countess of Aylesford and Her Circle: Art, Science, and Nobility in Georgian Britain” (The Peck-Stacopoole Fellowship for Early Career Collections Professionals)
• Kirstyn Leuner, “British Library Research for The Stainforth Library of Women’s Writing: A Recovery Work Book” (The BSA-ASECS Fellowship for Bibliographical Studies in the Eighteenth Century)
• Tara Lyons, “Her Books: Women’s Libraries in an Age of Rebellion (1640-1660)” (The Katharine F. Pantzer Senior Fellowship in the British Book Trades)
• Kelly McCay, “The Making of Shorthand Manuals in Early Modern England” (The Katharine Pantzer Junior Fellowship in the British Book Trades)
• Oleksandr Okhrimenko, “Medieval Western European Manuscripts in the Collection of Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine” (The Peck-Stacopoole Fellowship for Early Career Collections Professionals)
• Hyeona Park, “셩경직해광익 (Syeong-Kyeong-Jik-Hai-Kyang-Ik) [The Bible Literal Interpretation for Wide Instruction]: The Origin of the Korean Bible” (BSA Short Term Fellowship)
• Arianna Ray, “Brasilia Qua Parte Paret Belgis: Land, Power, and Race in Seventeenth-Century Maps of Dutch Brazil” (The Charles J. Tanenbaum Fellowship in Cartographical Bibliography)
• Guillermo Wilde, “Indigenous Map-Making in the Frontier Missions of South America” (The BSA-Pine Tree Foundation Fellowship in Hispanic Bibliography)

For a list of previous BSA Research Fellows and their research topics, follow this link.