Immigration History Manuscript Workshop

2025-2026 IHRC Immigration History Manuscript Workshop

Applications due September 30, 2025

The Immigration History Research Center (IHRC) is pleased to announce our inaugural Immigration History Manuscript Workshop. We invite applications from authors nearing completion on a book manuscript addressing any aspect of US immigration history from the colonial era to the present.

Applications will be accepted from authors for whom this will be their first book-length publication and who do not anticipate having another opportunity to workshop their manuscript.

The selected author will collaborate with the IHRC to identify two accomplished scholars in the field to read the manuscript and offer their feedback in an in-person conversation at the Organization of American Historians conference in Philadelphia in 2026. The workshop will be public and other scholars are welcome to participate in the discussion, although they will not receive prior access to the manuscript.

Application Information

To have your manuscript considered for this workshop, please fill out the application. You will be asked to submit your book proposal, one sample chapter, and CV. All application materials are due September 30, 2025. Please note: manuscripts must be complete by January 15, 2026.

The IHRC is committed to supporting the histories of immigrant, refugee, and second-generation populations. If you would like to share any additional information in your application about your perspectives and experiences relating to immigration, please feel free to do so.

Recipient Award

The author will receive a $1000 award which they may put toward the cost of travel to the conference if they would not otherwise be attending and/or do not have other travel funding.

FAQ

Can my manuscript be workshopped even if I cannot attend the conference?

As this is an in-person event, authors and reviewers will be expected to attend the OAH conference except in extenuating circumstances.

Does the project need to be about the United States?

Transnational and comparative projects are welcome, but the work should contribute to the historiography of US immigration.

What stage should my project be in?

Authors must have complete manuscript drafts by January 15, 2026. Ideally, a project will have preliminary interest from the press, but not have completed the revisions required after full manuscript peer-review, as the workshop will be most useful while the project is still malleable.

Is an institutional affiliation required? Can graduate students apply?

Proposals from independent scholars, adjunct faculty, and postdoctoral scholars are welcome. Graduate students who are still finishing their dissertations should wait to apply until the dissertation is complete, defended, and revised into a book manuscript.