‘The Willison Foundation Charitable Trust (‘the Trust’) is a registered charity (1170782) devoted to higher educational purposes. It was established in late 2016 through the gift of Mr Ian Willison, whose CBE (2005) was awarded ‘for services to the History of the Book.’

Mission

The Trust promotes the advancement of the History of the Book by awarding funding to researchers working within that global field of study. It is interested in studies of the production, transmission, circulation, dissemination, and consumption of text and graphics (i.e. maps, music, illustrations, and mass-produced prints). It therefore expects to serve the needs of those working in the history of authorship, publishing, reading, and archiving, including maps, music, and prints; the history of libraries including deposit of computer memory; textual studies in the widest sense; codicology, palaeography, textual biography and editorial practice, textual communication, reception studies within oral as well as inscripted cultures.

Donations

The Foundation welcomes donations of whatever size, all of which will be fully acknowledged. In the case of substantial donations, there is the opportunity for an award to be associated with a specific name. If you are contemplating a gift, and wish to make it tax-efficient, please contact the secretary: secretary@willisoncharitabletrust.org

Contact us

The Foundation operates for the most part through email. If you wish to contact us, please do so using the following email address: secretary@willisoncharitabletrust.org