Scholarly Editions and Translations

The Scholarly Editions and Translations program provides grants to organizations to support collaborative teams who are editing, annotating, and translating foundational humanities texts that are vital to generating new scholarship but are inaccessible or only available in inadequate editions or translations. Works from any humanities field may be the subject of an edition. Since the program’s inception in 1966, the NEH has funded editions and translations of some of the most significant historical, literary, philosophical, and music texts. 

The program supports continuous full-time or part-time activities during the period of performance of one to three years. Typical project expenses include salary for editorial and research activities, travel to collections to verify source material, and consultant fees for translation, editorial work, and the implementation of a digital edition. Editions and translations may be print, digital, or a combination of both, but all editions and translations must contain additional and new scholarly material such as introductions, annotations, and critical apparatus. The Scholarly Editions and Translations program includes two funding levels: Planning and Implementation.

What’s new for 2024

• The individual designated as the project director for a Scholarly Editions and Translation project may not serve as the project director for any other Scholarly Editions and Translation project during the period of performance. A project director may serve as a co-director for other projects.
• Projects not applying for a planning grant are considered implementation grant applications.
• Undergraduate students are prohibited from performing translation work for projects.
• The program does not support the preparation of anthologies or sourcebooks.  
• Applicants receiving matching funds must raise and certify all eligible gifts and pledges six months before the end of the period of performance.

New Opportunities for International Collaboration with Greece and Israel:

Collaborative projects involving U.S.-based scholars working closely with scholars in Greece or Israel should read about new international collaboration opportunities that could provide additional funding.  More information about these Partnership Opportunity Notifications (PONs) can be found here.

View the Scholarly Editions and Translation Pre-Application Webinar here: