Research Grant Program Announces 2015 Winners

From: John Hamill, Chair of the SOF Research Grant Program

The Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship’s 2015 Research Grant Program selection committee is pleased to announce that it has chosen to fund one proposal for further research into the Shakespeare Authorship Question.  This is the second round of applications we received, and we are looking forward to announcing another round next year. The proposal promises the possibility of exciting new finds to help solve the authorship mystery.

The persons selected for the 2015 SOF Research Grant are:

Michael Delahoyde and Coleen Moriarty for Research in a few northern Italian archives.  This is to follow up on the research that Michael pursued with his 2014 RGP award this summer in Italy.  We believe that this investment has so far paid off tremendously.

Statement from Michael Delahoyde on Purpose of Research:

Building upon our recent discovery of documented evidence of Oxford’s request and permission to access artwork in private governmental chambers, we intend to remain on de Vere’s archival trail through northern Italy in 1575-1576 as well as that of his personal secretary Anthony Munday in 1579. Beyond the archives, we hope to strengthen a sympathetic alliance among present-day locals engaged in the arts and education who recognize that they have a cultural stake in Oxfordianism and the visitors such fellowship attracts. We aim to expand the historical work into a very contemporary context: what would it mean to know, incontrovertibly, that Shakespeare himself not only drew breath but also found direct inspiration for his works here?

Michael will present a short summary of his summer 2015 findings at the SOF Shakespeare Authorship Conference in Ashland, Oregon on Friday, September 25, 2015.  In addition, the other winners of the 2014 competition, Roger Stritmatter and John Lavendoski, will also present brief summaries of their findings.

The members of the 2015 RGP Review Committee were Katherine Chiljan, Bonner Cutting, Ramon Jimenez, Don Rubin, and John Hamill.

We expect to have another Research Grant Program for 2016.  We will announce the details of the RGP Rules for the 2016 grant in the next few months. Please help us continue the RGP with your donations.