The West Virginia Humanities Council, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, provides Publication Grants to support the production of completed nonfiction manuscripts in the humanities. The Council is dedicated to fostering public humanities programming for West Virginia audiences and encourages applications from recognized nonprofit and academic presses.
Publication Grants fund only the production phase of a completed nonfiction manuscript. They support projects rooted in one or more humanities disciplines such as history, literature, philosophy, art history, and related fields. Applicants must ensure the project engages public audiences in West Virginia and meets the Council's eligibility and matching requirements.
Eligible applicants include recognized nonprofit presses and academic presses. Projects must involve qualified humanities scholars or expert practitioners, secure dollar-for-dollar matching funds with a required 25% cash match for requests over $2,000, and include a comprehensive plan for publicity and dissemination. All funded projects must be open or accessible to public audiences and comply with federal nondiscrimination statutes.
Applications must include organizational information, detailed project narrative, project schedule, involved scholars' qualifications, and a detailed budget. The application should clearly articulate the project's contribution to public humanities and its alignment with Council priorities. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact Grants Administrator Erin Riebe before applying to discuss project eligibility and requirements.
The grant cycle is recurring with a submission deadline of September 1 each year. Applicants should plan to submit applications with sufficient lead time and allow at least twelve weeks between the deadline and project start. Erin Riebe can be reached at riebe@wvhumanities.org or 304-346-8500 for additional information and guidance. Previous recipients include West Virginia University Press for their publication New Deal: Photographs of Wes
