Fellowship

The application process has closed for the 2023 CABS-Minnesota Diverse Voices Fellowship. This page will be updated when the application process opens for the next fellowship. You may also fill out this form if you wish to be notified about the next fellowship. The information below pertains to the 2023 Fellowship. Fellowship activities, eligibility criteria, and application instructions may vary from year to year. Please contact Michele Wan at michele@bookseminars.com with any questions.

2023 Diverse Voices Fellowship

CABS-Minnesota is committed to diversity in the used and rare bookselling profession and is currently seeking applications for its 2023 Diverse Voices Fellowship. We believe that a diverse and inclusive book trade will benefit booksellers, collectors, and the cultural heritage community at large by expanding perspectives and by encouraging new collaborations. We recognize that many talented professionals in the bookselling and cultural heritage fields do not see themselves reflected in the traditional rare book trade. As one step toward centering non-dominant perspectives, CABS-Minnesota is building an annual cohort of five individuals who have a strong interest in learning more about selling used and rare books and who have found themselves isolated in or distanced from the bookselling trade by reason of race, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, and/or income. You can read more about the 2022 Diverse Voices Fellows, the inaugural cohort, here. 

 

Fellowship Eligibility 

An eligible applicant will: 

  • Identify as a person of color, LGBTQ+ person, person with disabilities, person from a low-income background, woman, nonbinary person, and/or trans person. Applications from Black, Indigenous, Asian, Latinx, and other people of color are especially encouraged. 

  • Be an early- or mid-career bookseller or a person with a strong interest in participating in a program of professional and career development focused on used and rare bookselling. Library, archives, and museum professionals, as well as private collectors and members of the book arts community, are eligible to apply if they have an interest in learning about the practice of selling used and rare books. 

  • Be a resident of the United States.

  • Be a minimum of 18 years of age.

Previous applicants to CABS scholarships or fellowships who meet the above requirements are eligible to apply. In addition, although preference will be given to applicants who have never previously attended the CABS bookselling seminar, alumni of the seminar who meet the above requirements are eligible to apply. 

Multiple individuals working at the same bookstore or institution may apply. However, only one individual per bookstore or institution may be selected as a Fellow in a given year.

 

Fellowship Activities

 The CABS-Minnesota Diverse Voices Fellowship will include the following activities, scheduled to occur between January and September 2023. With the exceptions of the two-day field school and week-long seminar, the average time commitment for the fellowship is roughly 2-3 hours per month:

  • Fellows will begin the program by meeting one another virtually and participating in a fellowship program orientation. 

  • Fellows will meet one-on-one with CABS-Minnesota’s Curriculum Coordinator to discuss their fellowship goals.

  • Fellows will participate in a virtual reception with members of the CABS-Minnesota faculty and board, as well as alumni of the fellowship program.

  • Working closely with the Diverse Voices Fellows, CABS-Minnesota will design a custom, two-day field school in Atlanta, Georgia, for spring 2023 that will allow for an in-depth exploration of the used and rare bookselling profession. The program may include meeting local booksellers for a behind-the-scenes view of their work and/or visiting private or institutional collections. Travel, housing, and meal costs will be covered by the fellowship. 

  • Fellows will attend the CABS seminar on selling used, rare, and antiquarian books, scheduled to occur in Minnesota from July 9 to 15, 2023, with the cost of tuition, travel, housing, and meals covered by the fellowship. A sample program from a previous CABS seminar can be found here.

  • CABS-Minnesota will facilitate opportunities for networking and community-building among fellows and seminar alumni in virtual spaces.

  • Fellows will have the opportunity to apply what they have learned during the fellowship by participating in a final project, such as issuing a sales catalog or selling books at a virtual book fair.

  • For fellows who work with materials by or about diverse communities, there may be opportunities to engage in conversations about the practices of sourcing, describing, and selling such materials, including emerging ethical practices. 

  • Owing to the ever-evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, please note that in-person fellowship events are subject to change.

 

How to Apply

 Submit the following materials by Sunday, November 6, 2022 at 11:59 PM EST via this link. Fellowship decisions will be announced in December 2022.

  • Application form. 

  • A personal statement or essay (no longer than two pages, double-spaced; PDF preferred) addressing the following: 1) your experience with used and rare books, archives, and related materials, if applicable; 2) your experience with bookselling, if applicable; 3) why you are interested in the fellowship and what you hope to gain from it; and 4) any goals or aspirations you have with respect to bookselling and/or related cultural heritage professions. Anonymized examples of personal statements from the prior year can be found here: Example 1 and Example 2. 

  • Resume (PDF preferred). If you do not have a resume, please email michele@bookseminars.com prior to applying to discuss alternate arrangements. 

  • Acceptance of terms and conditions, including agreeing to submit documentation of COVID-19 vaccination if selected as a fellow and following masking guidelines at indoors fellowship events.

Applications will be judged on a variety of criteria, including, if applicable, experience with used and rare books or related materials; experience or interest in bookselling; clarity and thoroughness of the applicant’s explanation of their reason for applying and what they hope to gain from the fellowship; and/or the extent to which the fellowship will help the candidate achieve their professional goals. Candidates continuing to the second round of consideration will be asked to provide the name of a reference.

The Antiquarian Book School Foundation (ABSF) is an independent, non-profit, and tax-exempt educational institution focused on promoting, maintaining, and expanding the standards of the antiquarian, used, and out-of-print book trade. CABS-Minnesota, which is administered by the ABSF, is an annual week-long intensive seminar for booksellers, prospective booksellers, and others with an interest in the rare and second-hand book market. For more on our programs and missions, visit our website at bookseminars.com.