(Use the Louisiana Publishing Initiative Application Form)

This grant category responds to requests for assistance with publication projects. Awards of up to $4,000, may be used by scholars and photodocumentarians applying the humanities—interpretation and analysis—to Louisiana history/culture, or to subjects and/or issues impacting life in Louisiana. There is a single application deadline each year on February 15. Up to five awards are made annually.

Projects eligible for consideration must be of interest to a general public audience. All awards must culminate in a completed book-length manuscript. The manuscript must be completed and submitted to a publisher within the 18-month LPI grant period. Preference is given to projects with publishing contracts. For those seeking a publication subvention, the award must culminate in a book.

Ineligible projects include:

• Scholarly monographs for specialists in a field;
• Children’s books;
• Novels, short stories and poetry; and
• Research fellowships.

Evaluation Criteria:

• Applicant writing on a topic of Louisiana history/culture.
• Appropriateness of topic for the general public.
• Quality and originality of the scholarship.
• Humanities central to the project.
• Critical thinking and interpretation evident in the approach to the subject.
• Issues presented in a balanced and non-advocative manner.
• Applicant has relevant experience, technical expertise, or professional qualifications to research and write the proposed study.
• Supporting scholars and consultants are relevant to the proposed study and qualified to fill their respective roles.
• Material presented in a manner accessible to the general public.
• Project nearing completion and can be completed in the 18-month period allowed by the Louisiana Publishing Initiative grant.
• Specific plans for publication and distribution.

For Photodocumentaries Only

• Quality and originality of the photography and accompanying text

For Publication Subventions Only

• Applicant must include evidence (contract or letter from the press) that the manuscript will be published within the 18-month grant period of the LPI.
• Applicant must include evidence from the publisher explaining why the subvention is necessary for publication (i.e. publication or portions of it are cost-prohibitive, may have limited regional interest, etc.

Eligible Costs: Applicants may request funds for publication subvention, stipends, clerical support, editing/indexing, travel, books, transcription services, photography, photocopying, film processing, or other direct project costs. Stipends and honoraria for recipients are limited to no more than $2,500 of the total grant award.

LPI grants are the only LEH awards that can be made directly to the applicant; therefore, the award is considered taxable income. It is highly recommended that applicants obtain a non-profit sponsoring organization and fiscal agent for the grant. Funds will be directed to the sponsoring organization on the awardees behalf, precluding the project director from paying taxes on the grant award, unless an honorarium of $600 or more is received. The sponsoring organization should be the non-profit press publishing the organization the applicant is affiliated with sponsor the project.

Support Materials: Resumes for all major project staff, letters of interest or commitment from a publishing company and 20 pages of sample text from the project. For photodocumentaries, also include 10 images (prints, slides, or 400 dpi digital on CD-ROM) from the project. A table of contents with a description of each chapter, also indicating which chapters are complete, is strongly recommended.

Final Proposal Submission: No proposal should exceed 30 pages in length (15 pages if double-sided). Eight copies, including one with original signatures, must be received in the LEH office by 5 p.m. on the day of the deadline. All pages should be numbered sequentially. Proposals must be collated and either stapled or paper clipped. DO NOT bind or rubber band proposals. DO NOT place proposals in individual folders or envelopes. The Face Sheet must be the cover page of each proposal. The proposal must be ordered
exactly as laid out by the grant application form: 1) Face Sheet, 2) Background Information, 3) Project Narrative, 4) Budget and 5) Support Materials.

Review Process: Applications are first screened by a panel of scholars and experts on public reading interests and documentary photography. The panel’s recommendations are evaluated and voted on by the full LEH Board during the Spring board meeting. The LEH Board may make one of four funding decisions:

1. Fund in full as proposed;
2. Fund with conditions;
3. Reject/resubmit; or
4. Reject.

All applications not approved for funding may be resubmitted at future deadlines. All funding decisions are made by a simple majority vote of the present and voting LEH Board members; the staff does not vote on proposals. Decisions to accept or reject proposals are contingent upon the number and quality of proposals received, and the availability of grant funds.

Awards are announced on April 1. The grant term is 18 months. Project directors delinquent in submitting final report materials by September 30 will forfeit the final grant payment of 25%. Grant awards entail giving the LEH license to publish works or excerpts as articles in Louisiana Cultural Vistas, the quarterly magazine of the LEH. Upon publication, five copies of the book must be submitted to the LEH.

For more information, contact:
John Kemp, kemp@leh.org • 504.620.2481
Walker Lasiter, lasiter@leh.org • 504.620.2631
Rachel Norman, norman@leh.org • 504.620.2479
Erik Charpentier, PhD, charpentier@leh.org • 504.620.2478