The CSDH/SCHN Outstanding Early Career Award recognizes exemplary scholarly work by a Canadian or permanent resident researcher or a researcher at a Canadian institution during the early stage of her or his career. Early career, in this context, usually extends from the later stages of doctoral work to up to 10 years since award of a PhD. The recipient need not be affiliated with an institution. 

The recipient will be invited to accept the award and to address the society in a plenary session of the annual conference at Congress, which will be held this coming year at the University of Calgary in the spring of 2016. An invitation to serve on the editorial board of Digital Studies/Le champ numérique will also be offered to the recipient.

This award is typically given to an early-career scholar whose work relates to any area of the digital humanities, broadly conceived, whether theoretical, critical, applied, or in the area of community building. Evidence of scholarship may take the form of print or online publications, a design portfolio, fabrications, prototypes or tools, or a production system. Work produced by a member of a larger collaborative team may be considered for this award; in such a case, the nomination should include a letter from the leader of the team (which may be the nominee her or himself) explaining the nature of the nominee’s contribution to the team activities. The award will be given for work that, in the opinion of the CSDH/SCHN Awards Committee, constitutes a significant contribution to the field.

Nominations of up to 500 words must be submitted by November 30, 2015. Only current members of CSDH/SCHN are eligible to submit nominations. Nominations must be sent by email to the chair of the CSDH/SCHN Awards Committee (dean.irvine@dal.ca).

The Awards committee will compile a short list, and confirm with nominees whether they are willing to be considered, in December 2015. We will then request the submission of supporting material (CV, letters of support, and access to contributions or projects if not readily accessible) by January 15, 2016. 

Adjudication of the award will be conducted by the CSDH/SCHN Awards Committee (Dean Irvine, Dominic Forest, Susan Brown, Juan Luis Suarez, Kevin Kee, and Janelle Jenstad), who may consult the CSDH/SCHN Executive or external members of the community for assistance in evaluating applications. Selection will be made by the end of January 2016. An announcement will be made in spring 2016, along with the release of the CSDH/SCHN conference program for Congress 2016.