Judith Yaross Lee Publication Grant in American Humor Studies 

Call for Abstracts

The American Humor Studies Association’s Judith Yaross Lee Publication Grant supports early career scholars with professional guidance as they develop an article in comedy/humor studies research.

The Grant: For graduate students, the process of planning, drafting, revising, submitting, re-revising, etc. is often one of trial-and-error, with varying levels of guidance coming from departments and/or advisors.  Scholars working in humor/comedy often work with advisors who are not trained in the area.

The AHSA Governing Board matches grant awardees with an established scholarly mentor who will guide them through preparing an article manuscript for submission, ideally within 3-6 months. 

The Process: Together, the mentor and awardee will identify appropriate scholarly journals for their work, including but not limited to the AHSA’s journal, Studies in American Humor. Mentors will meet with the awardee to plot a trajectory for—and provide feedback on—a manuscript developed from the awardee’s scholarly field(s) and original research.

The Award: Awardees will receive a year of AHSA membership. They will further receive a $150 stipend from the AHSA upon submission of their manuscript. After submission, they will be welcome to contact their mentor for a final meeting addressing any initial editorial feedback they receive from the journal to which they submitted.

Eligibility: The proposed article can be at any early phase, from conceptualization to a first draft. The program welcomes scholars trained in diverse fields whose work addresses comedy, humor, and even American Studies in the widest senses. Graduate students and those who earned their Ph.D.s in 2025-2026 are welcome to apply. 

Applying: Please submit a CV and a proposed project proposal (200-300 words) to ah***************@***il.com by September 10, 2026. Feel free to contact Todd Thompson, AHSA Executive Director, at To***********@*up.edu, with any questions.