London Review of Books International Fellowship 2024-25

Beginning October 23, 2023, the Harry Ransom Center welcomes applications in partnership with the London Review of Books (LRB) for an inaugural international fellowship that requires on-site consultation of the Ransom Center's LRB Collection.

The application deadline is January 15, 2024.

The program, a collaboration between the London Review of Books and the Harry Ransom Center, supports research and extensive consultation of the London Review of Books materials and related collections. This opportunity offers one scholar, journalist, historian, educator, artist, or other professional from anywhere in the world the chance to support their research or creative work with a fellowship of one to three months, including a stipend of $3,500 per month (and an additional one-time stipend of $500 for fellows traveling internationally). Research and engagement with London Review of Books archive, potentially alongside other collections at the Center, is required. The residency for the 2024-2025 fellowship must be completed anytime between September 1, 2024 and May 31, 2025.

About the LRB Archive

The archive of the London Review of Books at the Center is comprised of two main categories of material: editorial files relating to the compilation of every issue of the magazine, published 24 times a year since September 1979 (over 1000 issues in total); and year-by-year correspondence concerning the commissioning of the reviews, essays and poems that make up each issue, along with other aspects of the paper's daily business. These reflect the LRB's growth, over the years, from a team of four working on an insert for the New York Review of Books, into one of the UK's leading cultural journals and literary brands.

Particular strengths of the archive, which are therefore particularly suggestive of research uses, include:

• English-speaking literary culture since 1979, especially the practice, and leading practitioners (and editing, and leading editors), of the extended book review and literary essay;
• the history of magazines, and transatlantic literary journals in particular;
• evolving trends in literary and other (mostly humanities-based) scholarship;
• major historical events since 1979, and the way they have been interpreted and debated by leading intellectuals.

For more on the structure of the collection and its most high-profile writers, please review this description and preliminary inventory. A detailed introduction to, and background notes on, some highlights of the archive can be found in London Review of Books: An Incomplete History (Faber, 2019) published to mark the 40th anniversary of the paper, including a selection of high-resolution scans. Sam Kinchin-Smith, who compiled that volume, gave a lecture to the British Studies Seminar at the University of Texas in 2020, about the project and the LRB archive, which can be heard here: https://podcasts.la.utexas.edu/british-studies-lecture-series/podcast/the-london-review-of-books. Please also take the time to learn about the Ransom Center's Materials Use Policies.

Applicants may contact Sam Kinchin-Smith or Harry Ransom Center Reference with specific inquiries about the LRB collection.

Eligibility and Applications Instructions

Applicants must have a demonstrable record of publication and/or achievement founded on, or that will clearly be further developed through, archival research. A complete application consists of a three-page proposal and one letter of recommendation as outlined below. These materials must be emailed to ransomfellowships@utexas.edu by the deadline, January 15, 2024, before noon CST.

Proposal

We ask that the three-page proposal be in English and submitted as a single PDF file. Files longer than three pages will not be accepted.
Required: Each page should include your last name in the top-right corner and be formatted with one-inch margins and a sans-serif or serif font size of 11 pt.

Page One
The first page of your proposal should provide your name, organizational affiliation (if you have one), project title, and requested duration of residency, followed by a summary of the proposed research project. Keep in mind that research topics and their significance should be thoroughly explained and placed in the context of the larger field of study. Please also describe the anticipated result of the project (e.g. article, book, edited volume, film, or other work).

Page Two
The second page of your proposal should provide a detailed account of your anticipated use of the London Review of Books collections. Describe the materials you will consult, their relevance to the project, and why these materials must be consulted on-site during the residency. In general, proposals must clearly convey the feasibility of a project, identify the required containers, boxes, and folders from the LRB collection and explain how the collection informs the larger project.

Page Three
The third page of your proposal should consist of an abbreviated curriculum vitae emphasizing relevant work, including publications. Previous recipients of Ransom Center fellowships should include results of fellowship-supported research.

Letter of Recommendation

Applications must include one letter of recommendation, which should come from a supervisor or colleague thoroughly familiar with the applicant's strengths in research and/or professional achievement. The letter of recommendation must be in English and bear the referee's signature. It should be submitted by the referee as a PDF to ransomfellowships@utexas.edu.The deadline for the application materials also applies to the letter of recommendation.

Announcement of Decisions and Residency

LRB fellowship applicants will be notified of the outcome of their applications by the Harry Ransom Center in late spring of 2024. The LRB fellowship recipient will be required to review and complete the following items for their residency at the Ransom Center. Prospective LRB fellows may choose to review these items for planning purposes. Please be aware that these items are not part of the application process.

The following guidelines contain essential information about the LRB fellowship residency at the Ransom Center, and must be reviewed by the LRB fellows.

• Visiting Scholar Guidelines (PDF)

The Visiting Scholar Guidelines provide specific instructions for their completion.

• Visiting Scholar Acceptance Letter (PDF)
• Nonemployee Research Affiliate Agreement (PDF)
• Photocopy of the photo/information page of valid passport

The Fellowship Coordinator will provide these documents electronically via DocuSign (confidential and data-encrypted) once the scholar has provided informal confirmation of their acceptance via email. We cannot accept fellowship paperwork, which may include your personal information, by email attachment.

As noted in the Visiting Scholar Guidelines, fellows are responsible for making their own lodging arrangements. The following guide to short-term housing options in Austin is maintained as a courtesy for our visitors, but we cannot endorse any particular establishment.

• Guide to Austin Housing (PDF)

Please also be aware that it is not necessary to select your lodgings from this guide. Please make your housing arrangements as soon as possible. Accommodations frequently fill months in advance.