The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, which dates back to 1875, seeks its historian. According to the call for proposal:
Our goal is to have a finished manuscript by 2014 with publication in 2015. The Publisher envisions a manuscript of approximately 175,000 words accompanied by photographs and other illustrative material.The hospital is working in partnership with the University of Toronto Press, which has posted details on the project here. Deadline for proposals: January 15, 2012.
Putting major historical projects to tender seems to me an admirable process. UTP tried it previously with its history of the university, and the book, by Martin Friedland, was a triumph of both scholarship and readability. What this competition needs now is some serious proposals from historians or teams of historians.
(Personal note: I have done a number of commissioned histories, to mutual satisfaction -- and the good of historical knowledge, I think, but I will not be applying for this one. Not that I'm not interested, but I'm booked.)
Young scholars: go for it. And don't work cheap -- good history are worth it).
