Within the series, each Press will focus on specific aspects of folklore studies related to its areas of expertise:
- Illinois on gender and queer studies, world folk cultures, and multiculturalism as manifested in forms of vernacular expression such as music, dance, and foodways;
- Mississippi in folk art, American folk music, African American studies, popular culture, and Southern folklife;
- and Wisconsin in folklore studies that intersect with Upper Midwest cultures, Southeast Asian studies, Slavic and Eastern European studies, gay/lesbian studies, Irish/Irish-American studies, and American popular culture.
Applicants may indicate in their proposal whether they have a preference of publisher.
About the Initiative
Folklore Studies in a Multicultural World is a series that will publish top-notch first books in folklore studies. Funded by a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the series is a collaborative venture of the University of Illinois Press, the University Press of Mississippi, and the University of Wisconsin Press, in conjunction with the American Folklore Society. The series will emphasize both the interdisciplinary and the international nature of original scholarship in folklore, touching on a vibrant array of expressive phenomena, such as language, music, dance, foodways, play, gestures, and beliefs. It will help to identify and develop exceptional first books in an increasingly underserved field, as well as to help support the work of university presses publishing in this area.
General guidelines
Proposal must be for a first book. Proposed projects must be single-authored, nonfiction books based on folklore research. Edited volumes, photography collections with minimal text, and memoirs will not be considered. Applicants may indicate in their proposal whether they have a preference of publisher.
Proposals should include a 5- to 10-page description of the project that addresses the questions below. The first page of your proposal should include your name, a preliminary title for your book, and your complete contact information (name, address, telephone number, e-mail, and fax if any). Please also include an annotated table of contents, one sample chapter (revised, if from a dissertation), and your curriculum vitae or resume. Although the initial proposal should include only one sample chapter, if your proposal is accepted we will expect you to provide us with at least two chapters.
Proposals should be submitted via e-mail between January 1, 2011 and April 1, 2011, to fsmw@uillinois.edu. Please type "FSMW Workshop Proposal [your surname]" in the subject field of your email. For example, "FSMW Workshop Proposal Bergen" or "FSMW Workshop Proposal Zavada."
Email submissions are strongly preferred. If unable to submit via email, please send complete materials by mail to:
FSMW Workshop Proposal
University of Illinois Press
1325 South Oak Street
Champaign, IL 61820
All applications will be considered together after the April 1 submission deadline. Editors at the participating presses will select up to six authors to participate in the workshop. Applicants will be informed no later than June 1 whether or not their project has been selected for the workshop and for further consideration for publication in the book series. Because of the volume of submissions, it is not possible for the participating presses to offer detailed responses to each proposal submitted. Only those candidates selected for the workshop will receive a detailed response.
Basic description
Explain the essence of your project. What is the main point you want to make? What questions do you seek to answer? How will your book add new knowledge, new breadth, a new perspective, or a new approach to the topic? How will the book contribute to existing work in the field, and how does it advance the goals of the series? Does your project intersect with public debates or issues in any way?
Audience and market
Indicate the primary and secondary audiences for the book. Who, principally, will buy and read it? What other readers might it attract? Does it include insights of interest to people outside your own specific field—scholars in intersecting areas or interested readers beyond academe? Would your book lend itself well to use in college-level courses? If so, in what specific courses and at what level(s) of instruction? What books already exist on the topic, and what will set your book apart from these competing or complementary titles?
Format
What is the expected length of the manuscript (in words), including notes, bibliography, appendixes, and any other textual matter? Do you anticipate including illustrations, maps, or tables? If so, please indicate how many, what kind, and why they would add significantly to the book.
Background
If the manuscript began as a dissertation, please describe revisions you have made or plan to make so that it will attract the much larger audience required to merit publication in the form of a book. If not a dissertation, please describe the genesis of the project.
Timeline
Please indicate when you expect to have a complete manuscript ready for review.
Further Information
Additional information about the series is available at www.folklorestudies.org. Please note that by participating in the workshop authors grant the Presses right of first refusal on the manuscript.
More information here.
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