Many subscribers of this listserv will now be aware of the Dictionary of African Biography (DAB), launched in 2008 by Oxford University Press and the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard University. The DAB will be a major biographical dictionary covering the lives and legacies of notable African men and women from all eras and walks of life. This groundbreaking resource will tell the full story of the African continent through the lives of its people. The General Editors of the project are Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Emmanuel Akyeampong of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard University.

With the assistance of a strong editorial board, we are now nearing
completion of the project. The initial print edition of the DAB,
scheduled for publication in 2011, will include 2,000 entries in five volumes.

As of April 2010, we have assigned 1,638 entries to 1,000 scholars,
all of them leading figures in their fields.

As we conclude this project, we encourage members of the African
studies community to consult our list of available entries and to
indicate those you are interested in writing. The list is arranged
alphabetically on our website.

The list of available entries will be updated regularly. All entries must be submitted by September 1, 2010 at the latest and come with an honorarium of 10 cents per word.

Please submit an academic resume and a brief (5-page) writing sample by mail if you are interested in applying for an entry. All
assignments will be at the discretion of the editors.