Toward Equity in Publishing is an initiative designed to remediate the inequitable conditions that precede and impede publication in the field of American art history. This professional development program is supported by grants from the Dedalus Foundation and provided by the peer-reviewed journal American Art, which is co-published by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and University of Chicago Press.
Frederick Eversley, Untitled (Parabolic Lens), 1971. Three-color, three-layer cast polyester, 36 ½ diam. × 9 7/8 in. Museum of Modern Art, Acquired through the generosity of Michael S. Ovitz and Gary and Karen Winnick, and Committee on Painting and Sculpture Funds. Digital image © The Museum of Modern Art / Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource, N.Y. © Fred Eversley, Courtesy of the artist and David Kordansky Gallery
Program Overview
Through free editorial service, mentorship, and workshops, the program will help scholars prepare academic article manuscripts for submission to the venue of their choice.
The journal devised this program to demystify scholarly publication processes for scholars who are having difficulty getting an article published. When institutions provide research and publishing grants, paid leave, and structured writing support to faculty, staff and students, these scholars’ publication acceptance rates improve. Unfortunately, not all scholars enjoy these benefits. The American Art journal wants to bridge this gap. Our goal is to invigorate and diversify the field at large.
Toward Equity in Publishing is a new initiative designed to remediate the inequitable conditions that precede and impede publication in the field of American art history. This professional development program is being launched by the peer-reviewed journal American Art, which is co-published by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and University of Chicago Press. It is supported by grants from the Dedalus Foundation.
- 40 hours of free editing service from a professional editor, conducted at the author’s convenience over a period of up to two years
- Six months of workshops on finding the right venue for your work, preparing your manuscript for the best possible fit, anticipating what readers will need, post-outlining, managing image rights and reproductions, finding a publisher for your book, and responding to peer-reviews
- A writing group cohort of six author-participants, plus a larger network as the program grows
- Weekly optional co-writing sessions open to all participants
- Double-anonymized peer reviews provided by subject-area experts
- A one-on-one meeting with the American Art journal’s executive editor about your publishing strategy
- Two years of access to program materials
With the continued generosity of the Dedalus Foundation, participants will now receive a one-time $1,000 stipend to offset participation costs such as family care, missed wages, or research expenses.
Some institutions provide their students, faculty, and staff with research and publishing grants, paid leave, and structured writing support; such perquisites increase these scholars’ publication acceptance rates. Not all scholars enjoy these benefits. American Art wants to bridge this gap. Our goal is to invigorate and diversify the field at large.
Participants meet once a month. To take full advantage of the program, participants are encouraged to attend the monthly meetings and other occasional workshops available during the program. Currently, the meetings take place on the second Monday of the month, 4:00pm—6:00pm ET. Co-writing sessions are available weekly and are open to all participants across the cohorts. These sessions are not mandatory.
The Dedalus grant allows the program to contract experienced and highly skilled editors. The editors provide developmental and line editing support to the TEP author-participants by engaging with the argument, evidence, structure, and prose. They will guide the author through revision. Each selected author will receive 40 hours of editing support for a single article-length manuscript.
Author presentations are not part of the curriculum, although participants may share their work with each other.
Yes. The journal’s executive editor or another staff-member will attend most of the monthly meetings and provide some of the workshops. There may be opportunities to meet editorial board members on request.
The TEP program is currently digital. Participants meet as a group and with developmental editors via Zoom. Workshops are also available through Zoom and some are prerecorded.
Month 1: Meet the editors. Editor-author pairs set up one-on-one meetings to occur in month one or two. In advance of the meeting, author provides editor with manuscript materials and a reflective memo about your writing goals, challenges, and feedback preferences. In the meeting, talk about structure and major concerns of the article.
Month 2: Editor performs first round of developmental editing for your article; one-on-one meetings as necessary during this process.
Month 3: Editor sends you the full article with edits and revision advice.
Month 4: Independent revision of your abstract, in dialogue with your TEP cohort.
Month 5-6: Continuing revision with editor as needed, time for additional research and revision.
Month 7-9: If you wish, American Art journal staff will arrange for external peer review of your revised manuscript. Talk to your editor about the timing.
Month 13-14: write cover letter for the editor of the journal of your choice and/or additional research and revision.
Within two years of start date: Submit your manuscript, if ready. Then, revision in consultation with your developmental editor about peer reviews. Optional one-on-one meeting with Robin Veder about publishing strategy after peer reviews come back. Earlier meetings are also possible.
There is no obligation for the participants to publish with American Art, nor for the journal to publish their work.
Eligibility Criteria
This program is open to applications from unpublished graduate students, untenured faculty, junior museum staff, and independent scholars who are producing research on American art history and related visual culture topics. Priority will be given to applicants whose experiences will broaden diversity in the field, including those with a personal history of overcoming adversity, first-generation college or graduate-school attendees, and those who have not received institutional funding (fellowships, grants, scholarships, or paid leave) in the past two years. Applicants need not meet all of these criteria to be eligible.
Yes, although the program gives priority to scholars who do not have a strong publication record yet.
No.
No, if an applicant is a long-term untenured faculty (including adjuncts, lecturers, etc.), junior museum staff, or an independent scholar who is struggling to achieve publication success, they are eligible too.
Yes, if the artists are submitting scholarly art history/visual culture manuscripts that would be appropriate for the readership of the American Art journal.
Yes, contact the journal for an introduction to a participant who has been in the program since 2021.
How to Apply
Please send inquiries about our rolling deadlines to AmericanArtJournal@si.edu with the following materials:
- an unpublished manuscript that follows these guidelines.
- a letter of interest describing career goals and publishing agenda
- a CV that includes history of institutional financial support
Please include your last name along with “Application for Toward Equity” in the subject line (e.g., “Martin Application for Toward Equity”).
For More Information
For more on the Toward Equity in Publishing program, see “Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces New Equity and Diversity Initiative Through the American Art Journal.”
To submit a manuscript for publication by American Art, please follow these guidelines. To ask questions, write to AmericanArtJournal@si.edu.