Author Grants (Small) are offered in autumn to individuals to offset costs incurred in producing works of scholarship on the subject of British art and architecture.
The grant is a maximum of £2,000.
The Paul Mellon Centre (PMC) is an educational charity that champions new ways of understanding British art history and culture. Through all areas of our work, including our Grants & Fellowships programme, we promote activities that enhance and expand knowledge of British art and architecture. As an organisation, we pledge ourselves to ensuring that the histories of British art are enriched and made more relevant to a broader range of people in the future. The inclusion of voices, narratives and experiences that have been marginalised or excluded in the past will have a transformational impact on the future of the Centre and upon British art studies. Accordingly, the PMC particularly welcomes applications from those who are under-represented within the academic field of the humanities in the UK.
Author Grants (Small) are intended to make possible publications on the subject of British art and architecture which would otherwise not appear, or which would appear in reduced specification. This grant can also go towards supporting short-form written pieces (e.g. an article or chapter) on the subject of British art or architectural history in a scholarly journal or larger publications.
A maximum grant of £2,000 is available.
A maximum of £2,000 will be paid in one payment to an individual. Only one grant application can be made per individual.
If applying for this grant to support a shorter written piece (eg. an article or chapter) then the costs can go towards supporting:
- licensing of images, reproduction and copyright costs
- commissioning of new photography
- commissioning of graphics
If applying to support a larger publication then costs can go towards supporting:
- design and layout
- licensing of images, reproduction and copyright costs
- graphics
- indexing
- commissioning of new photography
- marketing/publicity (e.g. review copies)
- publisher subventions (for example, to increase the number of illustrations and/or print in colour)
- copy-editing
Our funding programme supports research, educational activities and the dissemination of knowledge in the fields of British art and architectural history, from the medieval period to the present day and across the spectrum of relevant geographical and cultural contexts. Our remit is broadly defined and adapts as the interests of those working in our field change. It encompasses art made in Britain or by British artists, but is not solely limited to art made, or artists from, within the geographical boundaries of the British Isles. Rather we understand the field of British art studies to encompass a broad range of subjects and topics related to the artistic and cultural histories of Britain, past and present.
We do not offer grants and fellowships in field archaeology, the current practice of architecture or the performing arts. Applications in the fields of photography, performance, film and digital media will need to demonstrate their relevance to British art studies.
Applicants from an organisation looking for support for costs concerning exhibition catalogues can apply for the Exhibition Publication Grant and individual applicants seeking support for costs that total more than £2,000 can apply for the Author Grant (Large). Please note that applicants can only apply for one publication grant per round.
The written piece or publication should be ready to publish within two years from January 2026. The PMC does not make any retrospective awards for pieces already published nor will it accept applications for funding for pieces due to be published before the end of 2025.
If applying for this grant to support the publication of an article then please ensure that the piece has been accepted by the intended journal before making your application.
New or revised editions, translations of works already published and costs relating to open access publications are not eligible under this programme of funding.
For further questions on eligibility please contact the Grants & Fellowships Manager at grants@paul-mellon-centre.ac.uk.
Applications for our Autumn 2025 round of funding are now closed, the next round will be Autumn 2026.
Our Author Grants (Small) are offered in our Autumn round of funding.
To apply for this grant applicants must use our online system at grants.paul-mellon-centre.ac.uk. Once registered you will be able to fill out the online application form (an example of which can be downloaded below), you will also need to provide the details of one referee. Once the application has been submitted, and the reference has been received, we will check it to ensure eligibility. All accepted applications will then be read and assessed by our Advisory Council made up of twelve external academics and professionals with relevant expertise (you can find a list of the current members here). Three senior members of Paul Mellon Centre staff also sit on our Advisory Council.
The number of good applications is likely to exceed the funding available, so the Advisory Council are advised to use some or all of the following criteria to help them in making decisions on how best to allocate funding:
- academic rigour
- originality and distinctness in the context of current scholarship
- contribution to scholarship in the longer term
- timeliness, where a project is connected with a particular moment or opportunity
- where a grant would support work in a geographical or cultural context which has not hitherto been supported by PMC
- need, where the research would be unlikely to go ahead without this support
- impact and inclusion, where the research would include voices or reach a broader range of people than have hitherto been represented in the field of British art studies
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We also advise applicants to read our FAQ & Guidance webpage before starting their application, our Grant Making Policy and Due Diligence Policy can also be found there.
Decisions made by the Advisory Council will be communicated to all applicants within two months of the application submission date. Given the volume of applications, we cannot guarantee individual feedback if you are unsuccessful. However, we do try to accommodate specific requests. Please email our Grants and Fellowships Manager to request this.
If you have any access requirements or experience any issues using our online grants system (or accessing and filling out the application forms) then please do contact the Grants and Fellowships Manager who will be able to assist you.
As part of the application form, you will need to provide the name and email address of one referee who is willing to submit a short reference (500 words) for you. The referee should have first-hand knowledge of the applicant’s academic career and/or the subject area for which funding is being sought. The Advisory Council would like to be informed of the originality of the subject matter and the applicant’s suitability to pursue such research. The reference is an essential part of our due diligence process, and your application cannot proceed to assessment without one.
Once your application is submitted, an automatic email notification will be sent to your referee with a link that allows them to view your application and submit their reference. They will also have the option to decline the request.
The deadline for submitting references will depend on the funding round, but it is generally between 7-10 days after the application closing date. The deadline date will be clearly communicated to you and your referee during the application process. You will receive an email notification when your referee has submitted their reference and once it has been received your application will proceed to the assessment round.
For more guidance on the content of the references, please refer to our FAQ & Guidance page.
Please ensure you speak to your referee before including their details in the application form so they are aware of the reference requirement and the deadline. We also recommend submitting your application in advance of the closing date to allow your referee as much time as possible to complete their reference.
Each round, we encounter reference requests that are not received by the intended recipients due to misspelled email addresses. To avoid delays, please double-check that all contact details are entered correctly when submitting your application.
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- A copy of the publication in which the article or short-form piece will appear must be sent to the PMC on publication.
- The PMC must be acknowledged within the published work and guidelines on this will be provided to all successful applicants.
- The full terms and conditions of grant awards can be read here.
Accessible Formats: There is a large text (size 20) format of this opportunity remit and application form available to download at the bottom of this page. We can also provide large or clear text formats in other sizes upon request. If you have any other access requirements regarding our website or experience any issues using our online grants system then please contact the Grants & Fellowships Manager.
Access Funding: We are committed to making our opportunities accessible to everyone. To support this, we have set aside funding to help individuals who may face additional barriers and as such incur extra costs whilst undertaking their research projects. If your application is successful, we will be happy to discuss how this funding can support your additional needs.
Applications open: July 2026 (date TBC)
Applications close: August 2026 (date TBC)
References due by: August 2026 (date TBC)
Assessment: September – November 2026
Decisions communicated to applicants: By 30 November 2026
For all funding enquiries please contact grants@paul-mellon-centre.ac.uk or call 020 7580 0311.
The Grants & Fellowships team is:
Martin Myrone, Head of Research Support & Pathways
Harriet Sweet, Grants & Fellowships Manager
Florence Smith, Administrative Assistant