Support & Patronage | Leibniz Philosophical Papers Project

The first three volumes of Leibniz’s Philosophical Papers were published by Oxford University Press in 2026. Two further volumes are now in preparation for submission to OUP.

The project’s current work has external support through May 2027, including a one-year grant from Emergent Ventures for a defined programme of manuscript research, translation, and public-facing work.

£75,000 to secure twelve months of full-time research and editorial work, June 2027–May 2028.

The immediate aim is simple: protect a full year in which the edition can remain a full-time scholarly undertaking rather than being fragmented by unrelated paid work. A single patron could underwrite the year, or the target can be shared among several supporters. Multi-year patronage would provide still greater continuity.

Support is sought for the continuing project as a whole: manuscript research, transcription and checking, translation, annotation, headnotes, editorial apparatus, preparation of future volumes and proposals, and freely accessible supporting materials.

Why This Edition Matters

Leibniz is one of the central figures in the history of philosophy, yet much of his thought still lies in archives rather than in usable editions. That gap matters not only for specialists, but for anyone interested in the making of modern philosophy, theology, science, law, and politics.

It transforms access

Leibniz’s manuscripts are palaeographically demanding and often difficult to use even when digital images are available. Expert transcription, textual checking, translation, and annotation turn those sources into material that can be reliably read, taught, cited, and debated.

It changes scholarship

New texts do not merely add detail. They reshape interpretation. They reveal development, revision, hesitation, and ambition in ways no selective or partial presentation can capture.

It preserves a legacy

Editing is a form of cultural stewardship. It ensures that foundational philosophical writings survive not only in archival custody, but in forms that can be studied, taught, cited, and debated.

30 years of later philosophical writing still requiring sustained editorial attention

One project connecting manuscripts, transcription, annotation, translation, and publication

A lasting resource for scholars, students, libraries, and future generations of readers

What the Next Year Secures

The £75,000 target is the amount required to protect twelve months of uninterrupted senior specialist work on the edition.

Protected full-time research time

Twelve months devoted to the edition without the delays created by taking on unrelated copyediting, indexing, or other paid work.

Specialist editorial labour

Manuscript identification, palaeography, transcription, textual reconstruction, source-checking, translation, annotation, and historical contextualisation.

Advancing the next substantial volume

Detailed manuscript scoping, translation and editing, together with the preparation of the next full proposal for publication.

Continuity

Multi-year patronage would allow future volumes to be planned and executed without an annual stop-start cycle of fundraising.

How You Can Help

Support at all levels is welcome, but it is sustained and larger gifts that make it possible to plan future volumes with confidence and continuity.

Your support can help fund

manuscript transcription and collation
translation of previously untranslated texts
editorial annotation and commentary
source identification and contextual research
preparation of future volume contents, proposals, and supporting materials

What your gift makes possible

A gift to this project helps convert difficult and dispersed manuscript material into a durable scholarly resource.

The result is lasting: texts become readable, teachable, citable, and available to future generations of scholars and readers.

Scholarly Advisory Board

The Advisory Board provides occasional scholarly advice on the development of the project. Editorial responsibility remains with Lloyd Strickland.

Roger Ariew

Distinguished University Professor
University of South Florida

Daniel J. Cook

Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus
City University of New York

Harry Lewis

Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science, Emeritus
Harvard University

Pauline Phemister

Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus
University of Edinburgh

Paul Rateau

Professor of Philosophy
Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

Project Structure

Project Director and Editor

Lloyd Strickland
Independent scholar; formerly Professor of Philosophy and Intellectual History, Manchester Metropolitan University.

Current External Support

Emergent Ventures

Fiscal Host

Open Collective Europe Foundation

Publication Record

The first three volumes were published by Oxford University Press in 2026, and OUP has expressed interest in considering further volumes, subject to peer review of the proposal.

Smaller-Scale Support

Contributions at every level are welcome. Supporters who would like a tangible connection with the editorial work may help sponsor the preparation of manuscript material.

£250 gives a broad indication of scale

As a broad indication of scale, £250 is roughly equivalent to the work associated with around 1,000 words of material, although the complexity of individual manuscripts varies considerably.

This offers a direct way to help bring Leibniz’s writings from manuscript into accessible scholarly form.

Acknowledgement

Every supporter whose funding contributes to a published volume will be acknowledged in that volume’s Acknowledgements unless they prefer anonymity.

Larger gifts and ongoing patronage help sustain broader editorial continuity and the preparation of future volumes.

Secure the Next Stage

The immediate target is £75,000 to secure June 2027–May 2028. A single patron may underwrite the year, or the target may be shared among several supporters. Multi-year patronage is especially welcome.

For major or multi-year patronage, or to discuss support for a particular stage of the edition, please contact Lloyd Strickland directly. Contributions of all sizes can also be made through Open Collective.

Discuss Patronage Make a Contribution

A concise two-page patronage prospectus is available for prospective supporters and intermediaries: download the prospectus (PDF).

The project is fiscally hosted by Open Collective Europe Foundation. Tax treatment varies by donor and jurisdiction; prospective major donors are encouraged to contact the project before making a gift.