The Emily Dickinson International Society (EDIS) invites applications for the Scholar in Amherst Program. The scholarship, which is awarded annually, is designed to support research on Emily Dickinson at institutions such as the Frost Library of Amherst College, the Jones Public Library, the Mount Holyoke College Archives, the Dickinson Homestead, the Evergreens, and the Amherst Historical Society. The award is a $2,000 fellowship to be used for expenses related to that research, such as travel, accommodations, or a rental car. Upon completion of their research in Amherst, recipients will write a letter to the EDIS Board outlining what they achieved as a result of EDIS support. A minimum stay of one week in Amherst is required. Recipients also may use the fellowship to initiate a lengthier stay in the area. Preference will be given to persons with completed PhDs who are in the early stages of their careers.

The Scholar in Amherst Program was inaugurated in 2002 by a generous donation from Sylvia F. Rogosa, made in honor of her daughter, Vivian Pollak, second president of the Emily Dickinson International Society. The 2003 award was named in honor of Myra Fraser Fallon, mother of EDIS treasurer Dr. James Fraser. The 2004 award was named in honor of renowned Dickinson scholar Brita Lindberg-Seyersted and those in 2005 and 2006 for Professor Everett Emerson to recognize his contributions to Dickinson studies as well as early American literature. The 2007 Scholar in Amherst Award honors Suzanne Juhasz and Jane Donahue Eberwein, Dickinson scholars and founding members of EDIS. The 2008 Scholar in Amherst Award will honor Roland Hagenbüchle, an influential international Dickinson scholar whom many readers may know for coediting The Emily Dickinson Handbook (1998; rev. pbk. 2005).

To apply for the 2008 Scholar in Amherst Award, please submit a curriculum vitae, letter of introduction (written by the applicant), a two-page project proposal, and a brief bibliography, by December 15, 2008, to Paul Crumbley at PCrumbley@english.usu.edu; inquiries may also be directed to Martha Nell Smith at mnsmith@UMD.EDU and Eleanor Heginbotham at heginbotham@csp.edu. Letters of recommendation are not accepted as part of the application packet.