Nonfiction Manuscript Submission Guidelines
Truman State University Press specializes in sixteenth century/early modern studies; American studies, focusing on environmental history, regional/Midwest studies, and presidential histories; and poetry. Within American studies we publish both for the scholarly audience and the more general reader.
Simple Steps for Submitting a Manuscript
Your proposal
- Brief summary of the proposed project, intended audience, and scope and length of the manuscript
- Descriptive data on the author, including other publications
- Several sample chapters (including introduction or preface)
- Table of contents and/or chapter outline
- Photocopies of a sampling of images to be included, and a brief description of the type of images you plan to use and their format and availability
- Contact information, including email address if available
Proposal review
- Proposals will be reviewed within two weeks, and you will be contacted if we wish to review the entire manuscript.
Manuscript review
- TSUP conducts a double-blind peer review for every manuscript seriously considered for publication. Please be aware that this process will take several months. Authors will receive a copy of all readers’ reports whether the manuscript is accepted or not.
- Manuscripts are either accepted as is (or with minor revisions), accepted contingent on revisions, or rejected.
Send to
American studies or other nonfiction manuscripts:
Barbara Smith-Mandell
Acquisitions Editor
Truman State University Press
100 E. Normal St.
Kirksville, MO 63501
Early modern studies manuscripts:
Michael Wolfe, Ph.D.
Associate Dean, Graduate Division
St. John's College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
St. John Hall, room 135
St. John's University
8000 Utopia Parkway
Queens, NY 11439
Do's and Don'ts
- Do not submit your manuscript to more than one publisher at a time.
- Do not send the only copy of your manuscript.
- Do not put your name on each page of the manuscript.
- Do not send files electronically.
- Do not contact us while your proposal or manuscript is being assessed.
- Do submit your manuscript typewritten, double-spaced, and single-sided on good quality white 8 1/2” x 11” paper, unbound, with pages numbered consecutively.
- Do review your manuscript for correct punctuation, capitalization, organization of material, usage, etc. We recommend The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003). Take particular care with footnotes and bibliography.
- Do include a self-addressed stamped envelope if you wish to have your manuscript returned in the event that TSUP declines to publish it.
- Do inform us if you subsequently submit your manuscript to another publishing house while your proposal is being considered by us.
Dissertation vs. Book
Because the requirements for an academic dissertation are generally quite different from those of a university press book, TSUP does not publish unrevised dissertations.