SUNY Press is proud to announce a new competition for the best single-authored dissertation or first book manuscript in the field of African American studies. We welcome nonfiction manuscripts that engage any dimension of African American experience, whether historical or contemporary. The competition is open to scholars in all disciplines, but we especially encourage work that speaks effectively across disciplines, and projects that offer new perspectives on concerns central to the field of African American studies. Comparative approaches to the African diaspora are welcome if African American experience is central to the analysis.  Possible topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Intersectionality
African American families
Race and visuality
Critical race theory
African American experience in the multiethnic United States
Slavery and its legacies
African American political institutions
Black queer experience
Social policies and race
African American activism
Segregation
Black feminist thought
Prisons and incarceration
Civil rights movement
African American churches and spirituality
African American cultural production (film, music, literature)

If a winner of the competition is selected, he or she will receive a publication contract with SUNY Press and a $3,000 advance. Runners up may also be considered for publication with SUNY Press. All submissions must be postmarked by July 1, 2008, and should include the following materials:

--Cover letter
--C.V.
--Proposal, including a 4-5 page overview of the scope of the project and analysis of competing titles
--Complete manuscript, at least 150 double spaced pages, 12 pt. Courier font

Please mention the competition in your cover letter, and also indicate if any material from the manuscript has been previously published. The winner will be announced at the 2008 American Studies Association conference. All submissions must be exclusive submissions to SUNY Press for the duration of the contest, and finalists will be notified by September 1, 2008.

Please direct all questions and submissions to

Larin McLaughlin
Acquisitions Editor
SUNY Press
194 Washington Ave., Ste. 305
Albany, NY 12210
larin.mclaughlin@sunypress.edu