About the Awards
Information for authors
Information for publishers
FAQ
About the Awards
The Awards to Scholarly Publications Program (ASPP), a key Federation activity, funds scholarly books in Canada that make important contributions to the humanities and social sciences.
Established in 1941 by a group of scholars determined to promote original, Canadian research in the humanities and social sciences, the ASPP sponsored 33 scholarly books during its first decade. Since then, the Awards have supported the publication of over 7,000 works that have enriched the social, cultural, and intellectual lives of people across this country and the world.
Initial public funding for the ASPP came from the Canada Council for the Arts in 1957. Annual contributions from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), which began in the late 1970s, provide major support.
The Federation's member associations also offer a number of awards for scholarly books and research. Find a full list here.
About the program
The ASPP, run by the Federation, is a competitive program that awards 180 Publication Grants of $8,000 and five Translation Grants of $12,000 annually (April 1 to March 31).
The Publications Committee, comprised of specialists in all primary disciplines of the humanities and social sciences, evaluate grant applications and issue funding recommendations continuously throughout the year.
Who can apply
Canadian authors and publishers of scholarly books on the humanities and social sciences can apply for ASPP grants. Please consult Information for authors or Information for publishers for specific eligibility criteria, application guidelines, and other details.
Open Access
The Federation promotes and facilitates Open Access publishing of ASPP-funded books. Open Access makes research available to readers free of charge on the internet, benefiting authors and improving broad access to their scholarship. For details, please consult the policy.
Reports
Consult the report for the most recent program year (April 1 to March 31), which includes a bibliography and statistics.
Reports:
Bibliographies:
How to reach us
Due to COVID-19 closures, the Federation is unable to receive mail and courier deliveries. Please see electronic submission instructions.
If you are submitting an application to the ASPP to support publishing or translating a book, please email us at aspp-paes@federationhss.ca:
- A PDF of the completed application form; and
- all of the items listed at the end of the form, in electronic format.
If you are submitting a payment request for a published book that received funding from ASPP, please email us at aspp-paes@federationhss.ca:
- A PDF or picture of the Acknowledgements page including the ISBN;
- a photo of the book so that we can “see” a hard copy of the final product;
- the signed Payment Request Form as a PDF; and
- any other supporting documentation in electronic format.
Please keep a hard copy of the book aside, as we will ask you to send it to us when mail service and delivery services are restored.
Information for authors
What is a scholarly book?
Scholarly books are extended academic texts that display sound scholarship and contribute to the advancement of knowledge and research. The Awards to Scholarly Publications Program (ASPP) supports scholarly books on topics in the humanities and social sciences.
Benefits of consulting a publisher
While authors are free to apply directly to the ASPP, many authors find it helpful to prepare their applications with publishers who are eligible to work with us. As this is a highly competitive program and all ASPP-funded works must be published by eligible publishers, authors often find it reassuring to know that an eligible publisher is already interested in their work. A committed publisher can help ensure that a work is ready for submission and gather peer review reports for inclusion in the application.
For applications submitted by authors, the ASPP undertakes the peer review, which is a necessarily lengthy process. The ASPP cannot guarantee that a peer review will be completed within any specific time frame.
Please consult this list of eligible publishers.
Peer review and conflict-of-interest
All works submitted to the ASPP undergo a rigorous peer review process during which at least two peer reviewers provide detailed reports. To ensure an unbiased evaluation, the peer reviewers must conform to the ASPP’s conflict-of-interest guidelines. To facilitate a thorough evaluation, peer reviewers are asked to complete this report.
Applying for a Publication Grant
An ASPP Publication Grant provides $8,000 to offset the cost of publication. Grants are approved in principle prior to publication and are paid following publication directly to the publisher.
- Download the guidelines, which outline the eligibility criteria and the application process in detail, and read them carefully before completing your application.
- Then, complete the application form electronically by typing your responses directly into the form.
Publication Grant applications are accepted and evaluated throughout the year. The preferred file format for email submissions is PDF. Applications must be complete at the time of submission. The ASPP reserves the right to return incomplete applications.
Applying for a Translation Grant
An ASPP Translation Grant provides $12,000 to offset the cost of translation and publication. Grants are approved in principle prior to publication of the translation and are paid following publication directly to the publisher.
- Download the guidelines, which outline the eligibility criteria and the application process in detail, and read them carefully before completing your application.
- Then, complete the application form electronically by typing your responses directly into the form.
Some deadlines apply for Translation Grant applications (the next deadline is January 16th, 2023). The preferred file format for email submissions is PDF. Applications must be complete at the time of submission. The ASPP reserves the right to return incomplete applications.
Acknowledging support
If your work is awarded an ASPP grant, the following acknowledgement must appear in the introduction, preface, acknowledgements, or on the copyright page of the published work:
This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Awards to Scholarly Publications Program, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
For more information, please refer to Frequently Asked Questions below.
Information for publishers
What is a scholarly book?
Scholarly books are extended academic texts that display sound scholarship and contribute to the advancement of knowledge and research. The Awards to Scholarly Publications Program (ASPP) supports scholarly books on topics in the humanities and social sciences.
Publisher eligibility
In order to receive funds, publishers must meet the ASPP’s Eligibility criteria for publishers in advance of submitting their first grant application. To become eligible, submit a cover letter – outlining how you meet each criterion along with any supporting documentation, such as financial statements and catalogues, necessary – to the attention of the Program Officer who will approve eligibility. Publishers only need to confirm eligibility once, though the ASPP reserves the right to request updated information as needed.
Peer review and conflict-of-interest
All works submitted to the ASPP undergo a rigorous peer review process during which at least two peer reviewers provide detailed reports. To ensure an unbiased evaluation, the peer reviewers must conform to the ASPP’s conflict-of-interest guidelines. To facilitate a thorough evaluation, peer reviewers are asked to complete this report.
Applying for a Publication Grant
An ASPP Publication Grant provides $8,000 to offset the cost of publication. Grants are approved in principle prior to publication and are paid following publication directly to the publisher.
• Download the guidelines, which outline the eligibility criteria and the application process in detail, and read them carefully before completing your application.
• Then, complete the application form electronically by typing your responses directly into the form.
Publication Grant applications are accepted and evaluated throughout the year. The preferred file format for email submissions is PDF. Applications must be complete at the time of submission. The ASPP reserves the right to return incomplete applications.
Applying for a Translation Grant
An ASPP Translation Grant provides $12,000 to offset the cost of translation and publication. Grants are approved in principle prior to publication of the translation and are paid following publication directly to the publisher.
• Download the guidelines, which outline the eligibility criteria and the application process in detail, and read them carefully before completing your application.
• Then, complete the application form electronically by typing your responses directly into the form.
Some deadlines apply for Translation Grant applications (please consult the guidelines). The preferred file format for email submissions is PDF. Applications must be complete at the time of submission. The ASPP reserves the right to return incomplete applications.
Acknowledging support
If your work is awarded an ASPP grant, the following acknowledgement must appear in the introduction, preface, acknowledgements, or on the copyright page of the published work:
This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Awards to Scholarly Publications Program, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
For more information, please refer to Frequently Asked Questions below.
Requesting payment
All ASPP grants are approved in principle prior to publication. After publication, the publisher must complete and submit a Payment request form along with one copy of the published work bearing the appropriate acknowledgement. The grant will then be paid directly to the publisher.
Yes, in 2012 the ASPP’s name was changed to the Awards to Scholarly Publications Program. Under its new name, the ASPP continues to fund the publication and translation of scholarly books in the humanities and social sciences.
There is no application deadline for Publication Grants. Publication Grant applications are accepted throughout the year. Some deadlines apply for Translation Grant applications. For more information, please consult the guidelines.
The ASPP supports the publication and translation of scholarly books. Scholarly books are extended academic texts that display sound scholarship and contribute to the advancement of knowledge and research. To figure out whether a book is eligible, please consult the relevant sections above, Information for authors or Information for publishers, and review the grant guidelines.
Yes, the ASPP Translation Grant supports the translation of scholarly books written by Canadians that are being translated from English, French, or an Indigenous language spoken in Canada to one of those same languages. Please consult the relevant sections above, Information for authors or Information for publishers, and review the Translation Grant Guidelines.
Yes, the ASPP Publication Grant supports the publication of critical editions, critical bibliographies, reference works, and documentary collections. However, these works must include a significant analytical component that makes a contribution to scholarship, and a full scholarly and critical apparatus. Please consult the relevant sections above, Information for authors or Information for publishers, and review the Publication Grant Guidelines.
Yes, books by non-Canadians may be eligible for the ASPP Publication Grant, but only if they are on a Canadian subject and use Canadian sources. Otherwise, ASPP-funded books must be written or edited by Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada. For collective works – collections of individually-signed articles – at least half the principal editing team and half of the contributors must be Canadian.
Yes, the ASPP accepts applications by email. The preferred file format is PDF. Please send electronic applications to the email address found at the end of the application form. Please consult the relevant sections above, Information for authors or Information for publishers, and review the “Applying for a Publication Grant” or “Applying for a Translation Grant” sections.
No. A work must be complete before it can be considered for ASPP funding.
The ASPP is a competitive program and funding is awarded according to the ASPP’s mandate to assist the publication of books of advanced scholarship in the humanities and social sciences that make important contributions to knowledge. The ASPP’s Publications Committee assesses all Publication Grant applications and scores them on scale. (For the complete assessment scale, please consult the relevant sections above, Information for authors or Information for publishers, and link to the Publication Grant guidelines). Applications will be ranked according to the Publications Committee’s score and the top-ranking applications will be approved. Applications scored within a given calendar month will be ranked along with other applications scored in that month. Top-ranking applications will be approved and the others will be declined.
All ASPP grants are paid to a book’s publisher after publication.
All ASPP grants are awarded per book. If a book has been approved to receive an ASPP grant, the grant will be paid out to any publisher eligible to receive ASPP funds, even if it is not the publisher that was involved during the application process.
Yes, the ASPP is “format neutral” and its grants can support Open Access books, provided all the other eligibility criteria are met. The Federation supports Open Access and has established a policy to actively promote and facilitate Open Access publishing of ASPP-funded books.
No, ASPP-funded books must be published in Canada since ASPP grants are only paid out to eligible Canadian publishers. Please see the "Information for publishers" section for details about publisher eligibility.
No. ASPP grants support the publication and/or translation of scholarly books. For more information on research funding, contact the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
No, the ASPP supports the publication of books only.
The Canada Prizes are awarded annually to the best scholarly books in the humanities and social sciences that have received funding from the ASPP. If you have additional questions, email aspp-paes@federationhss.ca.
If you have additional questions, email aspp-paes@federationhss.ca.
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