Publish a British Academy Monograph

The British Academy Monograph series is open to any current or former British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow, British Academy Newton International Fellow, or British Academy / Wolfson Fellow.

Award holders who have surrendered their awards early to take up academic posts are eligible. Proposals for monographs co-authored with non-award holders may be submitted but proposals will not be entertained for multi-author volumes to which an award holder has contributed one or two chapters.

Only work carried out in the context of the Fellowship (i.e. arising directly from the research programme or conducted during the period of the Fellowship) is eligible for consideration. The Fellowship may lead to several publications, but the Academy will consider proposals for a maximum of two monographs per award holder.

Award holders can publish a maximum of two proposals. One proposed monograph may draw on doctoral research (though award holders who have only recently completed their doctorates are cautioned against submitting a proposal prematurely), while the other proposed monograph may represent the culmination of the research programme.

Any proposed monograph should not simply represent a collection of previously published articles.

Where research has multiple strands, award holders can choose to select one part of their research to concentrate on in their monograph. Please explain this in your proposal form so that the Publications and Conferences Committee have an understanding of the rationale for the monograph.

Download the monograph proposal form ensuring that the following components are included with your proposal;

• Your Curriculum Vitae, including a bibliography of your publications
• A statement about your monograph – include
  • your name
  • title and subtitle (if any) of the monograph
  • a summary of the nature and scope of the monograph – presented in accessible language suitable for an informed, general readership (maximum 150 words)
• Detailed information about your monograph as per the guidelines below, under 'Information about your proposal'
• A sample, substantive chapter (this should be an original piece of work that has not been published elsewhere, i.e. do not submit a related journal article as an indication of your writing).

Background

Please provide any information that you think may help the Publications and Conferences Committee understand the background to this monograph proposal. Explain how this proposal relates to the work you have conducted during your Fellowship. Describe the research methods that underpin your monograph.

Nature and scope of your monograph

Describe the nature and scope – and aims and objectives – of the monograph in sufficient detail to allow assessors to evaluate its importance. Explain how it will contribute to scholarship in the field.

Contents list containing synopses of the proposed chapters

Please indicate any chapters that are based on articles which you may have already published.

Relationship to other literature on this subject

Discuss the relationship of your proposed monograph to other works in the same field. How will your monograph be different?

Readership

Please explain the principal target readership for your monograph. For example, is it aimed at specialist scholars, or a wider academic audience?

The current status of your monograph

Explain how much of the monograph has been written. Has any part already been published (or accepted for publication), e.g. in the form of articles?

Length of proposed volume

Please provide an estimate of the total number of words in the volume. The monograph should not exceed 135,000 words. Please note that this word limit is a maximum not a target, and proposals for shorter volumes are welcome.

You will need to obtain two references. A reference form is attached to the proposal form.

Please complete the first section of the Reference form and send this to each referee, together with a copy of all parts of your completed proposal.

The referees are asked to return their references directly to the Academy. Please ensure that they are aware of the deadline for applications (see top of the page for deadlines).

All forthcoming deadlines for submission of British Academy Monograph proposals can be found at the top of this page.

Subject-relevant assessors will evaluate: the nature and scope of the proposed monograph and the contribution it will make to the relevant subject area(s); how appropriate it is to publish the material as a monograph (as opposed to, say, a series of journal articles); the proposed structure and content of the monograph, as detailed in the contents list; the scholarship displayed in the specimen of monograph text; the readability of the specimen of monograph text; the market for this proposed monograph. The final selection will be made by the Academy’s Publications and Conferences Committee (which is made up of Fellows of the British Academy).

Applicants will be notified of the outcome within three months of the submission closing date. Where the Publications and Conferences Committee believes that a proposal for a monograph may benefit from further work, it may invite unsuccessful applicants to resubmit the proposal; unless specifically invited, resubmissions will not be accepted.

Successful applicants will be offered a publishing contract. The Academy will appoint a mentor to work with, advise and guide the author through the completion of their work.

On receipt of the manuscript to the publishing department, the work will be sent to a reader for a final evaluation before the committee meets to discuss the volume. At this stage, the committee will decide whether the volume is suitable for publication or if further work is required. The Academy reserves the right not to publish the volume on quality grounds.

Final approval for publication rests with the Academy’s Publications and Conferences Committee.

The British Academy’s Code of Practice describes the standards of transparency by which the British Academy abides in administering applications for research awards and other proposals for support, and embodies the principles of equity, integrity and confidentiality for all who are involved in the assessment of proposals. The Code is intended to act as guidance to assessors in discharging the responsibilities placed on them in assessing proposals, and it sets out the proper conduct expected of them. Please read the Code in full. The Academy is regretfully unable to enter into correspondence regarding the decisions of the awarding Committee, which are governed by the Code of Practice. Please note that by applying into this scheme, applicants undertake to accept the terms under which applications are assessed.

The British Academy is committed to protecting and storing securely any personal and sensitive data held. This Privacy Notice sets out the basis on which any personal data we (the British Academy) collect from you in relation to administering the British Academy Monograph scheme. Please read the following carefully to understand how we will use your ‘personal data’ (‘personal data’ means any information relating to you, through which you can be identified, such as name, contact details and employment information).
Further information on the British Academy’s privacy policy.

How will your data be used?

As a monograph proposer, your personal data (name, contact information, employment information) is stored by the British Academy’s Publishing Department. Application forms will be retained for ten years in the case of successful applications, and five years in the case of unsuccessful applications. This information can be updated at your request.

As part of your relationship with us, the British Academy’s Publishing Department will use your personal data to: process your application; pass your application onto the monograph assessors and to the awarding Committee (Fellows of the British Academy who serve on the Publications and Conferences Committee); and to convey the outcome of your application. Other relevant members of British Academy staff may also view your application.

Proposers must secure the permission of any co-author to be listed as a potential co-author in their proposal.

The legal basis of processing

We will process your personal data for the purposes identified in this document on the following legal bases:

• Our legitimate interests, which relate to the processing of your personal data for the purposes of administering the British Academy Monograph scheme, as outlined in this document,
• Where you have freely consented to our use of your personal data for a specified purpose on an informed and unambiguous basis. Where this is the case, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us at the address below.

Contact us

If you have any questions, or if you would like to speak to us about the way in which we process your personal data, please email [email protected].

You also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues, at any time. The ICO’s contact details are as follows:

Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745