Due July 15, 2026
The American Institute of Indian Studies holds an annual dissertation-to-book workshop at the Madison South Asia Conference, co-sponsored by the American Institute of Bangladesh Studies, the American Institute of Pakistan Studies, and the American Institute of Sri Lankan Studies on Tuesday evening (October 27th) and Wednesday all day (October 28th) to help recent PhDs navigate the book publishing eco-system with an eye towards publishing a first book. Intended for PhD graduates who have begun significant work transforming their dissertation into a book manuscript, this workshop will help scholars revise and reframe their book prospectus and offer guidance on the transformation of their dissertation into a successful book manuscript. Applicants are expected to have made some progress on transforming their dissertation into a book manuscript; scholars with unrevised dissertations should spend some time revising and apply in a future year. Unrevised dissertation projects will not be accepted.
Author participants are selected through an application process, and all admitted authors will submit a sample chapter and draft book proposal in advance, to be read by each member of their working group. The interdisciplinary workshop begins with a “Secrets of Publishing” Q&A discussion from 7-8:30 pm on Tuesday evening. During the day-long Wednesday symposium, we will divide into three groups of eight authors and three mentors each, to work intensively together discussing each project. We conclude the workshop with an all-group dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant. Faculty from diverse disciplines and areas of expertise will serve as mentors. Mentors have each published at least one book, specialize in a range of South Asian regions (including India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh), and come from various disciplinary backgrounds, including anthropology, sociology, history, literature, media studies, gender studies, and religious studies.
Applicants will need to submit the following information:
- Application form
- CV
- Book manuscript abstract
- Book-in-progress table of contents
- Draft book prospectus: The following press websites include helpful guidelines on writing a book prospectus, but you can feel free to choose a press that would be a best fit for your manuscript. Please follow the format given by the press as closely as possible.
- University of California: https://www.ucpress.edu/resources/book-proposal-guidelines
- Rutgers: https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/manuscript-submissions
- Stanford: https://www.sup.org/authors/
- SUNY: http://www.sunypress.edu/l-45-submissions-guidelines.aspx
- One sample chapter from the book in progress which shows substantial revisions from the dissertation. Choose a body chapter that showcase the work’s focus, style, and content. Please do not submit an unrevised dissertation chapter.
AIIS Dissertation to Book Workshop Madison
Due July 15, 2026
The American Institute of Indian Studies holds an annual dissertation-to-book workshop at the Madison South Asia Conference, co-sponsored by the American Institute of Bangladesh Studies, the American Institute of Pakistan Studies, and the American Institute of Sri Lankan Studies on Tuesday evening (October 27th) and Wednesday all day (October 28th) to help recent PhDs navigate the book publishing eco-system with an eye towards publishing a first book. Intended for PhD graduates who have begun significant work transforming their dissertation into a book manuscript, this workshop will help scholars revise and reframe their book prospectus and offer guidance on the transformation of their dissertation into a successful book manuscript. Applicants are expected to have made some progress on transforming their dissertation into a book manuscript; scholars with unrevised dissertations should spend some time revising and apply in a future year. Unrevised dissertation projects will not be accepted.
Author participants are selected through an application process, and all admitted authors will submit a sample chapter and draft book proposal in advance, to be read by each member of their working group. The interdisciplinary workshop begins with a “Secrets of Publishing” Q&A discussion from 7-8:30 pm on Tuesday evening. During the day-long Wednesday symposium, we will divide into three groups of eight authors and three mentors each, to work intensively together discussing each project. We conclude the workshop with an all-group dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant. Faculty from diverse disciplines and areas of expertise will serve as mentors. Mentors have each published at least one book, specialize in a range of South Asian regions (including India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh), and come from various disciplinary backgrounds, including anthropology, sociology, history, literature, media studies, gender studies, and religious studies.
Applicants will need to submit the following information:
- Application form
- CV
- Book manuscript abstract
- Book-in-progress table of contents
- Draft book prospectus: The following press websites include helpful guidelines on writing a book prospectus, but you can feel free to choose a press that would be a best fit for your manuscript. Please follow the format given by the press as closely as possible.
- University of California: https://www.ucpress.edu/resources/book-proposal-guidelines
- Rutgers: https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/manuscript-submissions
- Stanford: https://www.sup.org/authors/
- SUNY: http://www.sunypress.edu/l-45-submissions-guidelines.aspx
- One sample chapter from the book in progress which shows substantial revisions from the dissertation. Choose a body chapter that showcase the work’s focus, style, and content. Please do not submit an unrevised dissertation chapter.