Hull Memorial Publication Fund

Committee Policy and Application Guidelines

1. The application can be made only by the publisher (NOT by the author or other Cornell faculty member). If you think your book may be eligible, please alert your publisher to this web site.
2. Only works by full or part-time academic or staff members of Cornell (including lecturers, instructors, permanent staff members and others with normally renewable contracts, but NOT graduate students, post-doctoral fellows or those on visiting appointments) are eligible for subvention.
3. According to the terms of the Fund, only scholarly works can be considered; novels, short stories, or poetry are not eligible for a subvention.
4. The Hull fund covers production costs only. It cannot apply to costs of preparing a manuscript, to special artwork or editorial assistance, or other pre-production expenses.
5. The fund can generally cover no more than 40% of the book's production costs. The maximum award is capped at $7,500.
6. The work must already have been accepted for publication, and the publisher must submit two evaluations of the work from independent referees that are anonymous to the author.
7. The request for subvention must be made well in advance of the book's production, since an acknowledgement of the Hull Fund's support must appear in the book's preface. If the publication is print-on-demand, the fund’s committee will advise publishers on an average of projected production costs.

For further information about eligibility and application procedures for publishers refer to "Information for Publishers". If you wish your book to be considered, please forward the link to this website to your publishers so that they can submit an application. If you are not sure whether your book is eligible or seek any further information, inquire directly of the committee chair.

Concerning the Hull Memorial Publication Fund of Cornell University:

The Hull Memorial Publication Fund of Cornell University is administered by a standing committee of the University Faculty. Its funds are used to support the publication of scholarly works by members of the University in the field of liberal studies: history and the social sciences, philosophy, language and literature that promise to fulfill the donor's mandate "to advance Cornell's scholarly reputation." In addition to entertaining applications for single-authored books, the Committee will also consider subventing scholarly volumes edited by Cornell faculty or staff (as defined below) if the editorial work involved the level of scholarly creativity typical of works of independent scholarship, if a volume is primarily the work of Cornell authors (e.g. a faculty or staff member's collected papers) or if a volume is a critical edition of an existing text. Support of volumes by several authors will be prorated to the proportion of the author's contributions. Reprinting or translations of existing works can also be considered, although they are not given as high priority as other works in funding decisions. While general editorship of periodicals, series, or collections of essays is not supported, the Committee will consider special single issues of journals edited by Cornell faculty or staff when the journal is associated with or published at Cornell.

Procedures for applying for subventions from the Hull Fund

The request for a subvention should come from the publisher, and should be addressed to the Chair of the Hull Memorial Publication Fund Committee, c/o The College of Arts and Sciences, 147 Goldwin Smith Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853-4101. In the application the publisher should follow the following guidelines:

1. Give the name of the author, name of the work, and a brief indication of its topic, nature, and the relationship of the author to Cornell University. To be eligible, the author must be a full or part-time academic or staff member of the Cornell community (including emeritus faculty, lecturers, instructors, permanent staff members, and others with normally renewable contracts, but NOT graduate students, post-doctoral fellows or those on visiting appointments).
2. Include two signed evaluations solicited by the publisher (anonymous to the author) from qualified independent readers (not colleagues or former teachers) who have examined the work and have passed on its scholarly merit; their reports will be held in strictest confidence by the Hull Fund Committee. This requirement applies to each volume submitted, regardless of the seniority of the author or whether the Fund has supported the author in the past.
3. Please also submit the Hull Fund Subvention Worksheet, giving the number of copies it is planned to print, the approximate size (format and number of pages) of the printed volume, and an estimated budget of the manufacturing costs (including itemized composition, paper, press work, binding, jacket, and shipping costs). Note that the Hull Fund covers production costs only, and cannot subvent costs of preparing a manuscript, special artwork or editorial assistance, other pre-production expenses, VAT or any other tax costs associated with publishing the manuscript.
4. Give the amount of subsidy requested, and an explanation of why the subsidy is needed. In recent years the Fund has limited subventions to a maximum of 40 percent of production costs or $7,500, whichever is less. Exceptions can be considered for unusual circumstances, however, such as the setting of non-Roman type. An important component of the rationale for the subsidy is its anticipated effect on the "buyability" of the book. The publisher should provide evidence that the subvention will reduce the selling price of the book by giving the selling price with and without the subvention.
5. The request for subvention must be made well in advance of the book's production, since an acknowledgement of the Hull Fund's support must appear prominently in the book's front matter.

The award of a subvention imposes the following obligations on the publisher:

1. The printed work must contain, in a place considered appropriate by author and publisher, a statement that its publication was aided by the Hull Memorial Publication Fund of Cornell University.
2. Payment of the subvention will be made on completion of the publication, submission of final production documentation (as described below), and receipt of one copy of the published work, to be sent to the Chair of the Hull Memorial Publication Fund Committee, c/o the Dean's Office, College of Arts & Sciences, 147 Goldwin Smith Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
3. Ordinarily (see exceptions above at Committee Policy paragraph #7 and below at The award of subvention paragraph #4), the subvention shall be regarded as an interest-free loan to be repaid to the Hull Fund in the form, firstly, of a royalty of 10% of the published price on all copies sold, or 5% of the cash received in cases where the discount is 50% or more, after such combined sales have totaled 500 copies; and secondly, as a 25% share of all subsidiary rights income. In the case of foreign publication, reimbursement must be made in US funds. A royalty statement must be submitted at the end of each fiscal year until all copies have been sold, or until the publisher is earlier relieved of this responsibility by the committee. When and if the entire amount of the subvention has been returned, the publisher has no further responsibility to the committee.
4. In the case of an author's first published monograph or book-length study, the subvention shall be regarded as an outright grant. Thus no work subvented by the Hull Fund, with the exception of an author's first published monograph or book-length study, can earn royalties for the author until the entire amount of the Fund's subvention has been returned under the procedure outlined in (3). Subject to this restriction, publisher and author can make any arrangements they wish about royalties.

Funding is not automatic. Even if the work is eligible, funds may not be available at a given time. The fact that previous works in a series or by a given author have been funded does not mean that a press can assume a work will be funded. If a publisher fails to honor its obligations to the Hull Fund, as detailed in these guidelines, the Committee may refuse to consider subsequent requests for subvention from that publisher.

When the Committee acts on a request, the publisher is notified accordingly. If the action is favorable, then a letter from the publisher, acknowledging the notification and accepting the provisions of this statement, formalizes the contractual agreement between publisher and Committee. When the book is published, the publisher transmits to the Committee a statement, specifying both the estimated and the actual total manufacturing cost, both the estimated and actual number of copies manufactured, and the agreed amount of subvention. In cases where the total costs have exceeded those estimated, the Committee may increase, but does not undertake to increase, its subvention. Where the costs are less than estimated, the Committee may reduce the amount of the subvention proportionately. The Committee chair will endorse the publisher's statement accordingly and pass it to the Treasurer of the University, who will transmit the money to the publisher.

If you have questions about submitting a proposal, please contact the Chair of the Hull Fund Committee, Associate Professor Annetta Alexandridis, aa376@cornell.edu, 607-255-9861.

3-yr. Terms (not including leaves), appointed.
5 members including Chair, plus ex-officio member from C.U. Press.

Annetta Alexandridis, Chair (9/1/20 – 8/31/26)
History of Art
GM 08 Goldwin Smith Hall
aa376@cornell.edu

Judi Byfield (9/1/23 – 8/31/26)
History
320 McGraw Hall

Kevin Attell (9/1/20 – 8/31/26)
Literatures in English
265 Goldwin Smith Hall

Sofia Villenas (9/1/23 – 8/31/26)
Anthropology
226 McGraw Hall

Arnika Fuhrmann (9/1/23 – 8/31/26)
Asian Studies
340 Rockefeller Hall

Jane Bunker (ex-officio), indefinite term
Director, Cornell University Press
Sage House
jfb324@cornell.edu