Book Promotion Funds are available to raise the profile of humanities scholarship at MU beyond the boundaries of our home institution, to support a variety of promotion efforts. Five annual awards of up to $2000 will be available starting in Spring 2027 to support book promotion activities, such as:

  • distribution (acquiring book copies, envelopes and postage, etc)
  • direct promotion (advertising)
  • professional cover and/or interior art (illustrator or designer, rights to images, etc)
  • supplementary promotion (podcast, video, etc)
  • events/activities (symposia, guest speaker honoraria, interviews, etc.)
  • open access

Eligibility

Awardees must:

  • be tenure-track faculty in a humanities department* at the University of Missouri
  • have a book** to promote that is published within the last year (or is under contract for publication within the next two years)
  • submit a complete proposal that includes (1) a rationale of up to 300 words, (2) a CV, and (3) an estimated budget

Selection Process

The Center for the Humanities Executive Committee will select the awardees of the book promotion awards based on the following criteria:

  • innovation/potential impact
  • accessibility/potential for general interest
  • relevance/potential for newsworthiness
  • disciplinary diversity

Due Date: December 1st, 2026

*For the purposes of this program, “Humanities Departments” include Black Studies; Classics, Archaeology, and Religion; Communication; English; History; Languages, Literatures, and Cultures; Music; Peace Studies; Philosophy; Theatre; Visual Studies; Women and Gender Studies.

**The equivalent of a book in other fields, including recordings of music or solo visual art exhibitions may be submitted for consideration as well.