RWA Academic Research Grant 2016

Laura Vivanco

Every year the Romance Writers of America offer funding for research into the genre.

The objectives of the program are:

1. To support theoretical and substantive academic research about genre romance texts and literacy practices.
2. To encourage a well-informed public discourse about genre romance texts and literacy practices. 

 Here are some more details of who's eligible to apply:

• Amount: up to $5,000. Funds will be calculated/awarded in U.S. dollars.
• Tenure: April 1, 2016 through March 31, 2017
• Completed applications to be submitted to RWA in both e-mail (RTF) and hard copy format.
• Decisions will be announced in March 2016.

and

The RWA Research Grant Program is open to faculty at accredited colleges and universities, independent scholars with significant publication records, and dissertation candidates who have completed all course work and qualifying exams. No candidate need be a member of the RWA.

This is definitely not limited to academics in English literature:

Appropriate fields of specialization include but are not limited to: anthropology, communications, cultural studies, education, English language and literature, gender studies, linguistics, literacy studies, psychology, rhetoric, and sociology. Proposals in interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary studies are welcome. The ultimate goal of proposals should be significant publication in major journals or as a monograph from an academic press. RWA does not fund creative work (such as novels or films).

There's more information on the RWA website.