SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

What we publish | How to contact us | What to expect in response | Whom to contact | What your proposal should include

What we publish

The University of Wisconsin Press, a non-profit publisher supported in part by resources at the University of Wisconsin, publishes book-length works of scholarly and general interest in the areas listed below. We typically do not publish outside of these specific areas.

Our editors seek work that originates in questions worth exploring, builds on careful research and reflection, and leads the reader through a genuinely thoughtful process of creative and critical inquiry—offered, ideally, in a presentation that is clear, articulate, and free of jargon. More broadly, we seek work that engages with important ideas, reflects diverse views, enlightens the general public, and sustains a literate culture.

Although the following guidelines speak of "books" and "manuscripts," we are also open to proposals for publications in other formats and media.

How to contact us

Send a query or proposal, but do not submit your manuscript unless and until an editor invites it. To inquire about potential interest in your project, you may submit a brief e-mail query of a paragraph or two, or you may proceed directly to a full proposal (mailed in hard copy, unless we invite you to submit it via e-mail). See below for details on what we are looking for in a proposal.

In a number of subject areas, acquisitions editors work closely with academic series editors in evaluating and developing projects. If your project fits one of our active series, please begin with an e-mail query addressed simultaneously to both the series editor(s) and the acquisitions editor, as indicated below.

If someone has referred you to the University of Wisconsin Press, or if you are approaching our editors as a follow-up to a conversation with our staff at a conference or other event, please do mention this connection in your first contact with us.

What to expect in response

Please note that we receive hundreds of queries and proposals per year, many more than the available spaces on our list. Regretfully, we are unable to respond to all queries and unsolicited submissions, though we generally do respond in a timely manner to those that may be a good fit for our list.

Whom to contact

Direct your inquiries in the areas of autobiography/memoir, biography, classical studies, dance and performance studies, film, food, gender studies, GLBT studies, Jewish studies, Latino/a memoirs, and travel to:

Raphael Kadushin, Senior Acquisitions Editor
University of Wisconsin Press
1930 Monroe Street, Third Floor
Madison WI 53711-2059
Phone: (608) 263-1062, e-mail: kadushin@wisc.edu

Direct non-fiction inquiries in the areas of African studies, anthropology, environmental studies, human rights, Irish studies, Latin American studies, Slavic studies, Southeast Asian studies, and U.S. History to:

Gwen Walker, Acquisitions Editor
University of Wisconsin Press
1930 Monroe Street, Third Floor
Madison WI 53711-2059
e-mail: gcwalker@wisc.edu

First inquiries related to book projects on Wisconsin or the Upper Midwest should take the form of a brief e-mail query addressed to the appropriate acquisitions editor and copied to Director Sheila Leary (smleary@wisc.edu). Raphael Kadushin (kadushin@wisc.edu) acquires primarily in the areas of regional fiction, creative non-fiction, autobiography, travel, and food. Gwen Walker (gcwalker@wisc.edu) acquires primarily in the areas of regional history and the natural environment.

Remember that if your project fits one of our active series, you should begin with an e-mail query addressed simultaneously to both the series editor(s) and the acquisitions editor who focuses on the subject area in question.

What your proposal should include

Do not submit a complete manuscript unless specifically requested. Instead, send a curriculum vitae or resume, the table of contents, the introduction, a representative chapter, and a statement 3–5 pages in length that speaks to the questions below (you may disregard any questions not relevant to your particular project). Briefly, your proposal should give Press staff, most of whom will not be specialists in your area, a clear idea of what your planned book will achieve, what audiences it will appeal to, and what its publication will entail.

NOTE: As we cannot be responsible for lost or damaged materials, please keep all originals and send us copies only! It is not our policy to return proposals or manuscripts, nor do we retain them at our offices.

Basic description

Explain the essence of your project. What is the main point you want to make? What questions do you seek to answer? What exciting findings do you want to share, or what untold story do you want to tell? How will your book add new knowledge, new breadth, a new perspective, or a new approach to the topic? How will the book contribute to existing work in the field? Does your project intersect with public debates or issues in any way? How does it fit in with the books already published by the University of Wisconsin Press? Is it appropriate for one of our active series?

Audience and market

Indicate the primary and secondary audiences for the book. Who, principally, will buy and read it? What other readers might it attract? Does it include insights of interest to people outside your own specific field—scholars in intersecting areas or intelligent readers beyond academe? Would your book lend itself well to use in college-level courses? If so, in what specific courses and at what level(s) of instruction? What are typical enrollment numbers for such courses? Would professors be likely to assign the entire book as required reading, or only certain parts of it? Might they assign it as optional reading? What books already exist on the topic, and what will set your book apart from these competing or complementary titles? What special promotional activities would you be willing to undertake, and what would you expect your publisher to undertake?

Format

Please make us aware of any considerations pertinent to editing and production. What is the expected length of the manuscript (in either words or double-spaced pages), including notes, bibliography, appendixes, and any other textual matter? Would the book benefit significantly from the inclusion of illustrations, maps, tables, or other graphics? If so, approximately how many do you envision, and do you have or can you easily obtain the rights to use these materials? Is this a book that would call for special typographical features, e.g., boxed text or notes in a side margin? Do you foresee your book having potential as a CD-ROM reference source, or as an on-line interactive text?

Background

Share with us any background we should be aware of. Did the manuscript begin as a dissertation? If so, how have you revised it? Will it now attract the much larger audience required to merit publication in the form of a book? (If your manuscript began as a dissertation, we urge you to consult the following guides before submitting your work to us: From Dissertation to Book, by William Germano (University of Chicago Press), The Thesis and the Book: A Guide for First-Time Academic Authors, ed. by Eleanor Harman et al. (University of Toronto Press), and Revising Your Dissertation: Advice from Leading Editors, ed. by Beth Luey (University of California Press).) Has your manuscript or any part of it been previously published, in print or digital form? If the work contains translated material, have you ascertained the availability of the English-language rights?

Current status

Is another publisher presently considering your manuscript? Is the entire manuscript now available for review? If not, when do you estimate that you will have a complete draft? Have you identified or applied for any publication grants/awards for which your work might qualify?

Peer review

The University of Wisconsin Press sends each manuscript under serious consideration to at least two outside readers for their evaluations. In selecting peer reviewers, we are happy to consider an author's suggestions. Please list any scholars or subject matter experts qualified to serve in this capacity, indicating which of them have already read it. Include if possible potential readers' e-mail addresses, academic or professional affiliations, and phone numbers. (Please note that present or former teachers, advisors, students, close colleagues, close friends, family members, employers, employees, supervisors, or supervisees, may not serve as reviewers.)

Contact information

Be sure to provide complete contact information (name, address, telephone number, e-mail, and fax if any) for yourself and any coauthors/coeditors.