Applications & eligibility

Benefits of consulting a publisher

As this is a highly competitive program, and all Scholarly Book Awards-funded works must be published by eligible publishers, authors are encouraged to prepare their applications in collaboration with an eligible publisher. A committed publisher can help ensure that a work is ready for submission and gather peer review reports for inclusion in the application.

Publisher eligibility

To receive funds, publishers must meet the Scholarly Book Awards 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, to aspp-paes@federationhss.ca, who will approve your eligibility. Publishers only need to confirm eligibility once; however, the Scholarly Book Awards reserves the right to request updated information as required.

Review our current list of eligible publishers.

Peer review and conflict of interest

All works submitted to the Scholarly Book Awards must 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 Scholarly Book Awards’ conflict of interest guidelines (within the application). To facilitate a thorough evaluation, we require peer reviewers to complete a report within the application. 

Acknowledging support

If your work is awarded a Scholarly Book Awards 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 the FAQ below. 

Requesting payment

All Scholarly Book Awards grants are approved in principle before publication. 

Following publication, the publisher must complete and submit a signed Payment request form along with the following:

• A PDF or picture of the page bearing the appropriate acknowledgment including the ISBN;
• A photo of the cover of the book so we can 'see' a hard copy of the final product;
• A copy of the original Award/Decision letter;
• Any other supporting documentation in electronic format.

The grand will then be paid directly to the publisher, only after these materials are received.

A Scholarly Book Awards Publication Grant provides $8,000 to offset the cost of publication. Grants are approved in principle before publication and are paid directly to the publisher following publication.  

• The guidelines and application package below outline the eligibility criteria and the application process in detail. Carefully review them before completing your application.  
• Complete the application within the package. Details on how to submit your application are enclosed. 

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 Scholarly Book Awards reserves the right to return incomplete applications. 

Download the publication guidelines and application

A Scholarly Book Awards Translation Grant provides $30,000 to offset the cost of translation and publication. Grants are approved in principle before publication of the translation and are paid directly to the publisher following publication.  

• The guidelines and application package below outline the eligibility criteria and the application process in detail. Carefully review them before completing your application.  
• Complete the application within the package below electronically by typing your responses directly into the form. 

Some deadlines apply to Translation Grant applications. Please see the guidelines for details. The preferred file format for email submissions is PDF. Applications must be complete at the time of submission. The Scholarly Book Awards reserves the right to return incomplete applications. 

Download the translation guideline and application.

Submit your application before the June 2026 deadline.

Please email aspp-paes@federationhss.ca if you have any questions.

Yes, in 2023, the ASPP was given the moniker: Scholarly Book Awards. It still goes by its official title, Awards to Scholarly Publication Program (ASPP) in formal documentation. 

Prior to 2012, the program was called the Aid to Scholarly Publications Program.

Under its new moniker, the Scholarly Book Awards continue 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 Scholarly Book Awards support 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 Scholarly Book Awards 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 Scholarly Book Awards 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 Scholarly Book Awards Publication Grant, but only if they are on a Canadian subject and use Canadian sources. Otherwise, Scholarly Book Awards-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 Scholarly Book Awards 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 Scholarly Book Awards funding.

The Scholarly Book Awards is a competitive program and funding is awarded according to the Scholarly Book Awards' mandate to assist the publication of books of advanced scholarship in the humanities and social sciences that make important contributions to knowledge. The Scholarly Book Awards' 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 Scholarly Book Awards grants are paid to a book’s publisher after publication.

All Scholarly Book Awards grants are awarded per book. If a book has been approved to receive a Scholarly Book Awards grant, the grant will be paid out to any publisher eligible to receive Scholarly Book Awards funds, even if it is not the publisher that was involved during the application process.

Yes, the Scholarly Book Awards 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 Scholarly Book Awards-funded books.

No, Scholarly Book Awards-funded books must be published in Canada since Scholarly Book Awards grants are only paid out to eligible Canadian publishers. Please see the "Information for publishers" section for details about publisher eligibility.

No. Scholarly Book Awards 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 Scholarly Book Awards 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 Scholarly Book Awards.
If you have additional questions, email aspp-paes@federationhss.ca.