Scholarly Editions and Translations Grants | 20181205 RQ

Opportunity Information: Apply for 20181205 RQ

The Scholarly Editions and Translations Grants program, offered by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), funds projects that prepare authoritative scholarly editions and/or translations of existing texts that matter to the humanities but are currently difficult to use. The focus is on works that are inaccessible, out of circulation, poorly edited, inadequately transcribed, or otherwise not available in a form that meets modern scholarly standards. Most supported materials tend to be major literary, philosophical, and historical texts and documents, but the program is not limited to those categories; other humanities-relevant formats, including items like musical notation, can also qualify when the work involves substantial humanistic scholarship and editorial rigor.

A key requirement is collaboration: each project must be carried out by at least two scholars working together. NEH supports sustained work over a period of one to three years, and the funded effort can be organized as full-time or part-time activity depending on the project plan. The expectation is that the final edition or translation will not simply reproduce a text, but will make it genuinely usable for research, teaching, and broader understanding by applying recognized best practices in scholarly editing. Applicants are expected to align their editorial approach with standards associated with the Association for Documentary Editing (ADE) and/or the Modern Language Association (MLA) Committee on Scholarly Editions, which generally emphasize transparent editorial decision-making, careful treatment of textual variants and transmission, and clear documentation of methods.

For translation projects, the program requires more than a straightforward statement that a work will be translated. Proposals must explain the translation theory and method being used for that specific text, such as how the translators will balance fidelity to the source language with readability, how they will handle culturally embedded terms, ambiguous passages, or specialized vocabulary, and what principles will guide consistency and annotation. In other words, NEH wants applicants to show that the translation is grounded in a defensible scholarly approach suited to the nature of the original work and the intended audience.

NEH-supported editions and translations are expected to include an appropriate scholarly and critical apparatus. In practice, this typically means a substantial introduction and annotations that provide essential context and interpretive support. The introduction and notes commonly address the text's form and genre, how it was transmitted over time (for example, manuscript history, print history, or versioning), and the historical and intellectual setting needed to understand the work. The goal is to produce a reliable, well-contextualized resource that helps readers understand not only what the text says, but how it came to exist in its present form and why it matters.

The program is flexible with respect to language. Proposals to create scholarly editions of foreign-language materials presented in the original language are eligible, and proposals that produce editions of materials translated into English are also eligible. This allows projects to serve different scholarly needs, whether the audience requires an authoritative source-text edition, an English translation for broader access, or both.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant program (CFDA 45.161) under the humanities funding category. The opportunity listed is Funding Opportunity Number 20181205 RQ, created on 2018-10-05, with an original closing date of 2018-12-05. The maximum award amount is listed as $300,000. Eligible applicants include a wide range of entities and individuals: state, county, and local governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled universities; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; nonprofit organizations with IRS 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education institutions); and individual applicants. Overall, the grant is designed to underwrite serious, collaborative editorial and translation work that brings important humanities texts into reliable, well-annotated forms that can support long-term scholarship and public understanding.

• The National Endowment for the Humanities in the humanities sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Scholarly Editions and Translations Grants" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 45.161.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-10-05.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-12-05. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $300,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Individuals.

Apply for 20181205 RQ

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