Publication Grants

The Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation accepts Letters of Inquiry from museum and university presses for publishing projects that offer significant original scholarship in the fields of digital and media art, art of the Spanish Americas, post-war painting and sculpture, Japanese bamboo, and arts and culture of the American Southwest. At the core of the Publication Grants Program is a deep commitment to advancing scholarship and providing broad and equitable dissemination of knowledge and ideas.

Publication Grants are intended to assist with production-related expenses. Eligible costs include author’s fees, editing, image rights and permissions, photography, design, printing, and translation.

Museums and university presses are eligible to apply. Individual authors with completed manuscripts in applicable fields should mention the availability of Thoma Art Foundation Publication Grants when they submit their manuscript to a university press for consideration.

Update March 15, 2021: All grant requests must be submitted through our online grant portal. Your initial letter of inquiry should provide general information about the project such as the start and end dates, requested amount, and total budget, as well as a 200- to 300-word synopsis of the project outlining the main goals of the project and its significance.

To be considered for a publishing grant, projects must

  • offer significant original scholarship in one or more of the following fields: digital and media art, art of the Spanish Americas, post-war painting and sculpture, Japanese bamboo, and arts and culture of the American Southwest;
  • for a university press, be under contract with an author or authors; for a museum, be approved by the museum administration and in planning;
  • be a complete scholarly manuscript scheduled for publication within three years of the application date;
  • undergo peer review (organizations that do not have a peer-review process in place may use the Foundation’s publication assessment form, which should be completed by at least two qualified reviewers); and
  • be disseminated in English in addition to any other languages

 

Projects considered for a translation grant must satisfy all the above criteria, as well as

  • provide material related to the accreditation or qualifications of the intended translation service; and
  • demonstrate an intended audience for the translated work.

Both print and digital formats that satisfy the above criteria are eligible. All applicants will need to submit a project budget and timeline in the Foundation’s template. Publications we have funded in the past received between $5,000 and $100,000, with an average of $30,000 for a full-length manuscript.

Museums applying for exhibition catalogue support should still apply through our Grants for Nonprofit Organizations application process.

The following are eligible for grant support:

  • Organizations with a 501(c)(3) designation
  • Domestic and international applicants

The following are not eligible for grant support:

  • Debt or expenses incurred prior to the date of grant request
  • Endowment and capital projects
  • General operating support
  • Scholarship aid or work in pursuit of an academic degree
  • Work focused on K–12 curriculum or learning and/or intended for K–12 audiences
  • Collection handbooks and publications that primarily feature a single private or commercial collection
  • Capital expenditures