2015-16 David Almond Fellowships Call for Applications

DAVID ALMOND FELLOWSHIPS FOR RESEARCH IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE 2015-16

Newcastle University’s School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics and Seven Stories, National Centre for Children’s Books are pleased to announce that the application process for 2015-6 David Almond Fellowships is now open.

Further particulars
The awards recognise both David Almond’s contribution to children’s literature and his connections with these partner institutions: he is a patron of Seven Stories and an honorary graduate of Newcastle University.

The Fellowships aim to promote high-quality research in the Seven Stories collections that will call attention to their breadth and scholarly potential. The three awards of £300 each are to facilitate a research visit to the Seven Stories collections in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK of at least three days by a bona fide researcher working on a relevant project. Applications will be considered from candidates in any academic discipline. The successful applicants will have a clearly defined project that will benefit from having access to the Seven Stories collections (please see indicative information about the collections below). All applicants should consult the Seven Stories catalogue as part of preparing their applications: http://www.sevenstories.org.uk/collection/. A well-developed dissemination strategy will be an advantage. Priority will be given to the importance of the project and best use of the Seven Stories collections as judged by a senior member of the Children’s Literature Unit in the School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics at Newcastle University and a senior member of the Collections team at Seven Stories.

Eligibility for the award
Applicants must hold a first degree or higher from a recognised institution of higher education. Note: non-EEA applicants are reminded that to take up a Fellowship they must hold an appropriate visa. Neither Newcastle University nor Seven Stories can help with this process. Please see the UK visas website for more information: http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply

Responsibilities
Fellowships must be taken up before the end of April 2016. Recipients are expected to spend at least three days in Newcastle and are encouraged to time their visits to enable them to participate in events organised jointly or separately by the Children’s Literature Unit and Seven Stories. (Please note: successful applicants must contact Seven Stories and agree a date for the visit prior to making travel arrangements; normally a minimum of two weeks’ notice is required before any research visit.) Acknowledgement of the Fellowships must accompany all dissemination activities arising from the research.

The Seven Stories archives
Seven Stories is the only accredited museum in the UK to specialise in children’s books and holds the most substantial collection of British children’s literature archives anywhere in the world. The Collection is made up of over 140 individual archive collections and features original material by over 250 different practitioners: approximately 135 authors, 123 illustrators, 5 critics, 4 editors, and 2 playwrights. There is also material on some key publishers and editors and a substantial book collection, numbering around 40,000 volumes.

The individual author/illustrator holdings vary significantly in size and scope – from a single file through to complex archives documenting an entire career. Many of these holdings are virtually unexplored by scholars to date and provide significant potential for original research, whether by focussing in depth on the work of individual practitioners, or by making links across the individual collections to research a topic from many different angles. The Collection is still growing rapidly, with more and more connections made possible by each new acquisition.

To find out more, please explore the Collection pages of the Seven Stories website - http://www.sevenstories.org.uk/collection, where you will find links to the catalogue records, highlights pages, and blog, all of which may suggest avenues for research. All but the most recently acquired artwork and manuscript collections are fully catalogued. You are also strongly advised to contact with the Seven Stories Collection team when shaping your proposal. They can’t do your research for you, but they can advise on areas of the collection which particularly merit investigation, and steer you away from basing your proposal on holdings which lack sufficient depth to support it. They may also be able to provide information about more recently acquired material which is still being catalogued. To get in touch with the team please email collections@sevenstories.org.uk or call 0191 495 2707.

Application process
Applicants are asked to submit the following items by 1 November, 2015.

• an application form
• a curriculum vitae
• a brief proposal (of 1,000 words maximum)
• one confidential letter of recommendation (sealed and signed; confidential letters may be included in your application packet or recommenders may send them directly)

Applications may be submitted by email or post.

Email: Kim.Reynolds@ncl.ac.uk

Post:
David Almond Fellowships
School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics
Newcastle University
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 7RU
UK