TSUP Author Information
Submitting Book Proposals
General Guidelines
Authors proposing a manuscript for publication should submit the following:
- project proposal: summary of project, intended audience, competing works, scope and length of manuscript
- background information on the author, including other publications
- contact information, including e-mail address if available
- table of contents or chapter summaries, and at least two sample chapters OR full manuscript
- samples of images (if integral to manuscript) with a brief description and information on their availability
Proposals may be submitted either electronically or by mail to the appropriate contact below. Proposals will be reviewed within two weeks, and authors will be contacted if we wish to have the entire manuscript formally reviewed. If we request a full manuscript for peer review, the author’s name should not appear on any page but the title page.
Please do not make simultaneous submissions to other presses while the manuscript is in our review process. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope if you wish to have the materials returned in the event TSUP declines to publish the manuscript.
American Studies
Barbara Smith-Mandell
Acquisitions Editor
Truman State University Press
E-mail: bsm@truman.edu
Early Modern Studies
Michael Wolfe, Ph.D.
Associate Dean, Graduate Division
St. John’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
E-mail: wolfem1@stjohns.edu
Contemporary Nonfiction Series
Monica Barron, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of English and Linguistics
Truman State University
E-mail: tsupnonfiction@truman.edu
Poetry
TSUP is currently not accepting unsolicited poetry manuscripts. You may submit your manuscript to the ongoing T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry by October 31 of any year. Please see the competition guidelines.
Book Manuscript Review
All proposals are internally reviewed, and if a project is appropriate for our list, TSUP finds an expert in the field to review the entire manuscript. This process usually takes several months; reviewers submit a report about the quality of the manuscript and whether they recommend publishing. Authors receive a summary or a copy of all readers’ reports whether the manuscript is accepted or not. If the reports are positive or mixed, the project is reviewed by the TSUP Editorial Board for approval. Once the board has approved a manuscript, a contract is offered to the author.
Publication
All manuscripts accepted for publication undergo careful copyediting for compliance with The Chicago Manual of Style, house style, and copyright requirements. Our editorial staff works with each author to ensure the highest editorial standards. Authors may recommend cover art and images to complement the text, as appropriate. The author has an opportunity to proof the galleys and review the cover design. The production process typically takes nine to twelve months. All books are copyrighted with the Library of Congress.
Like most scholarly publishers, TSUP does not have its own printing facilities, but contracts the printing and binding services with printers in the U.S. Our in-house staff now produces our own digital editions (in all e-reader formats). Our design and production services ensure that each book is well designed with high production and printing standards.