ICI is pleased to announce our inaugural 2009 competition for the two best unpublished, single-authored manuscripts or manuscripts of linked essays. The winners of the two prizes—the Anna Julia Cooper Prize in the Humanities and the Ida B. Wells Prize in the Social Sciences—will each receive $3,000 and the option for a book contract with Vanderbilt University Press. Each manuscript must be written (1) by an untenured professor who is currently seeking tenure and (2) on a specific topic under the general rubric of the global African Diaspora and produced in any field of the Humanities and the Social Sciences.

Manuscripts will be read and closely evaluated by senior professors in the relevant fields and the winners announced each spring. In the fall, an annual conference will convene at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. when winners and finalists will present seminars on their topics.

Possible topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:

African, African-American or African-Canadian studies
Anthropology
Atlantic African slave trade
Black European studies
Black popular culture
Caribbean studies
Cinema and film studies
Economics
Education
Ethics
Latin-American studies
Media
Philosophy
Religion
War and peace

All submissions must be emailed to ici@vanderbilt.edu, June 1 - 30, 2009 with the subject line "Submission.” Do NOT send full manuscripts at this time. Please include the following:

• cover letter
• CV
• proposal with a prospectus and book outline

Candidates will be notified by July 15 if they are invited to submit a full manuscript, and manuscripts must be received by Aug. 1. All submissions must be exclusive submissions to ICI for the duration of the contest.