2026 Call for Submissions
Provides $500 to support projects that further Emerson’s relevance to the broader public. We welcome projects that involve learners of all kinds and communities in all forms. Recipients also will be invited to submit for publication in The Emerson Society Papers a reflection on their completed projects. Please submit a confidential letter of recommendation and a carefully crafted 1-2 page single-spaced project proposal, including a description of expenses, to thomas.howard@bilkent.edu.tr by May 1, 2026.
2026 Winner: Peter Rousmaniere
We are delighted to award the 2026 Outreach Award to Peter Rousmaniere for his play, Discord in Concord.
Rousmaniere’s one-act play imagines an aging Emerson in his Concord study, visited by the ghost of Margaret Fuller, whose charged reunion becomes a fierce debate over democracy, conscience, solitude, and collective action. Designed as part of a one-hour event that pairs the performance with audience discussion, the play invites participants to reflect on how we directly experience democracy in our own lives. The award will support Rousmaniere’s efforts to promote the play — freely available as both script and video through the Creative Commons — for use in classrooms, libraries, discussion groups, and other community venues.
The video of the play can be found at: https://youtu.be/cBbnvrf2wrg
Previous Award Recipients
- 2026: Peter Rousmaniere