The SHEAR Second-Book Writers’ Workshop is turning five years old! We are now inviting applications for the fifth annual 2BWW workshop to be held online during the virtual SHEAR conference. The workshop will run from 1-4 EDT on Wednesday, July 14, 2021.

The journey from first to second book can be a difficult one. Trying to write during the Covid-19 pandemic has been especially hard. From choosing a topic for a second book to finding the time and support to research and write, the structure that guides the writing of the dissertation and first book disappears. Many of us struggle with this transition. We search for research support at the same time as teaching and service obligations increase. For some scholars, these difficulties are compounded by the obligations of family and child rearing that can make residential fellowships or long-term travel seem impossible. Yet the second book is an essential step in career advancement, a requirement for promotion to full professorships or, even at some institutions, for tenure. In recognition of the unique challenges of this stage, SHEAR’s workshop is designed to support its members at this transitional point in their scholarly careers.

The goals of the SHEAR Second Book Writers’ Workshop include both practical advice and the motivation that comes from writing for and with your peers. To accommodate the many stages of second book production, the workshop encourages flexibility in pre-circulated materials. Organized into focus groups, the workshop provides a space for discussion of second book concerns including fellowship applications, chapter drafts, and book proposals targeting different kind of presses.

This year, we hope to provide a more targeted experience than in previous years. As always, we invite individual submissions at any stage of development – book proposals, fellowship applications, draft chapters. However, this year, if you are interested in working with other second-book authors in your particular area of expertise, we welcome group submissions with a particular topical focus. If you have friends or colleagues who you want to read your work, please encourage them to apply. Let us know if you have particular readers in mind that we can try to accommodate. If you do not have specific people in mind, please mention any general topical areas you would like to focus on to help us better group you with like-minded scholars. This will also help guide us in forming group sessions and selecting mentors who can speak more directly to specific topical areas.

To apply to participate, writers of second books should submit via e-mail to 2ndBookSHEAR@gmail.com a single .pdf or Word file that contains a one-page CV and a one-page document comprising a description both of your second book project, the document that you would like to circulate for the workshop, and any other insights about topical areas or audience that you care to provide. You can direct any questions about the workshop to this email as well. Applications to participate in the workshop should be submitted no later than April 30 and applicants can expect to hear back by May 30.

Accepted participants’ materials for pre-circulation will be due July 1.