Out Of Africa: Call For Proposals – African Poetry Digital Humanities Grant 2026

Call for Proposals: African Poetry Digital Humanities Grant 2026

The African Poetry Digital Portal (APDP) invites proposals from scholars and researchers for the African Poetry Digital Humanities Grant. These grants support digital humanities research in African Poetry.

Applicants are encouraged to make use of the resources of the Portal, and in so doing expand the impact of the Portal in the broader community of African Digital Humanities scholarship. Given the multifaceted nature of African poetry in terms of regional variance, performative elements, archival and textual complexity and range, and the work of the genre within the fabric of contemporary and historical societies, proposals should take advantage of the range of possibilities afforded to a scholar in the field of Digital Humanities. To be considered, projects must use digital research methods or encompass scholarship that applies computing technologies in humanistic inquiry. Most importantly, African Poetry must be at the centre of the research.

APDP documents the work of African poets and provides equitable digital access to the related creative and intellectual artifacts, materials and research on the subject of African Poetry, housed in academic and cultural institutions in Africa and its Diaspora, to, among other things, create accessible ways to engender an informed, culturally diverse, civically engaged and responsible society.

Grant Details

Award Amount: $10,000

Application Deadline: 23rd January, 2026

Schedule

Grant period: April 2026 – April 2027
Project Start date: April 2026
Project End Date: April 2027

Applications will be reviewed by scholars in African Poetry and researchers in Digital Humanities. Projects will be judged on their contribution to digital humanities scholarship in African Poetry.

Application Requirements

Project proposal: a description of the proposed research plan consisting of the following (should not exceed 3 pages):

1. Abstract (300 words maximum).

2. Project Narrative: The narrative should describe the guiding premises of the project clearly, provide a clear overview of the project’s structure (components, personnel, tasks), and describe in concrete terms what the project hopes to accomplish by the end of the 12-month period. The narrative should include:

• – The nature of the project.
• – The area of African Poetry being explored.
• – The research question and approach.
• – Technological requirements:  specific equipment, software, server time, or hosting (NOTE: Personal computer purchases are not permitted).
• – A detailed timeline including key dates and milestones.

3. A detailed budget (1 page maximum) including clear explanations for each item and a justification of their importance to the project.

4. A C.V. from the primary researcher, which should include relevant examples of previous projects.

Outcomes

All grant recipients will:

• – Work to advance or complete a Digital Humanities Project on African Poetry, and make the project or the project details available to be featured on the Portal.
• – Complete a critical commentary on the technological and thematic challenge of the project and its effectiveness.
• – Complete a plan for future related work of expansion of the current project.

The African Poetry Digital Portal, in collaboration with the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities at the University of Nebraska, is the newest project of the African Poetry Book Fund. The Portal is an ongoing project and will be a gateway, providing access to and details of digital and print book manuscripts, newspapers and periodicals, newsletters, audio recordings, video recordings, websites, and related collections of African poetry written by Africans from antiquity to the present. It will also feature curated digital projects on various aspects of African poetry. The philosophical basis of this entire project is predicated on the understanding that there is a rich store of creative and intellectual resources in Africa and its Diaspora related to African poetry and poetics that can be transformative and influential in the world. The purpose of the project is to engage and connect scholars, thinkers, artists, and communities around the world who will benefit from a free and thoughtful exchange of ideas and study around African Poetry.

The African Poetry Digital Portal has been funded by grants from the Ford Foundation and the Mellon Foundation. It consists of the Index of Contemporary African Poets and African Poets and Poetry in the News (“A Survey of African Poetry in the London Times, Sunday Times, Financial Times and the Times Literary Supplement 1865-1985″). The additional sections include the African Poetry Collections Hub and the African Poetry Digital Humanities Projects.

Application deadline is 23rd January, 2026 and applicants should be notified of APDP’s decision by 2nd March, 2026.

Please submit all application documents through Submittable. For any questions, contact Rezina Habtemariam, APDP’s Project Manager, at rezina_habtemariam@brown.edu