Wallace Johnson First Book Program

The biennial Wallace Johnson Program for First Book Authors provides advice and support to scholars working toward the publication of first books in legal history, broadly defined. In conversation with peers and with the advice of senior scholars, participants develop and revise book proposals and sample chapters, as well as meeting with guest editors to learn about approaching and working with publishers.

The Johnson Program is open to early career, pre-tenure scholars, publishing in English, who have completed PhDs, JDs, or equivalent degrees. Scholars with expertise in all chronological periods and geographical fields are encouraged to apply, as are applicants who may not (yet) identify as legal historians. The Program provides substantial travel and accommodation funding to support attendance at Program meetings.

Admission to the Wallace Johnson program is biannual. The next cohort will be selected in summer 2023, and the call for applications for the program can be found below.

The program includes the following elements:

• Fall 2023 (October 26, 2023): in-person, one-day, pre-conference workshop at the ASLH Annual Meeting (Philadelphia, PA), introduction to book publishing and proposal writing;
• Spring 2024 (date TBD): remote meeting, feedback from program leader and peers on draft book proposal;
• Summer 2024 (date TBD): in-person, two-day workshop on draft chapters at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA); and
• Fall 2024 (October 24): in-person, half-day, pre-conference workshop at the ASLH Annual Meeting (San Francisco, CA).

The 2023-24 Johnson Program will be led by Professor Christopher Schmidt, with the participation of other senior legal historians.

Up to 5 Fellows will be selected. Fellows must commit to participation in all elements of the program. Each will receive substantial funding for travel and accommodation related to the program, with a small supplement to participants who do not have institutional support for travel and research.

The application deadline is July 14, 2023. Applicants should submit items 1-3 as a single pdf document, Times New Roman, 12-point font, with your full name in a header on each page. All materials should be submitted to Sam Erman (stcerman@gmail.com) by July 14, 2023.

1. Applicant Information Sheet (in lieu of cover letter).

• Personal Information: first name; last name; current mailing address; phone; email address; current institution; current position; institutional affiliation for 2023-24.
• Education: month and year of graduate degree, institution, and field: Ph.D.; J.D.; other.
• Funding: If selected for the Wallace Johnson program, would you have access to university or other institutional funds to help cover the costs of attending the program? Yes, No, Don’t Know. Comments or relevant details. We are committed to enabling fellows from a range of institutional positions to participate in the program. Your answer here will have no effect on your candidacy, but will enable us to provide small supplements to participants without institutional support.

2. Abridged Curriculum Vitae(limited to 2 pages).

3. Project Description (single spaced; not exceeding 1,000 words) organized with the following sections and addressing these questions. We are looking for candid self-reflection. You should think of this document as the first step in the revision, rethinking process.

• Author Bio. Tell us about yourself, including your position and commitments for the fellowship year (remember, we’ll have your cv).
• Dissertation (or other substantial piece of writing). Title? What was your dissertation (or other writing) about? What was its argument? What was its arc? What were its original contributions?
• Working title? What changes are you imagining for the book in terms of conceptualization, structure, narrative, or arc? Are you planning additional research and/or new chapters? How are you imagining the book’s audience? What stage are you at in your work on the book?

Two letters of recommendation submitted separately. Please ask two scholars who know your work well to write a letter of recommendation. We recommend that at least one letter come from a faculty member who was a major advisor of the dissertation (or other writing). Letters should be sent by email directly to Sam Erman (stcerman@gmail.com) and received no later than July 14, 2023.