Submitting a Book Proposal

The Assessment Process
An initial assessment of all proposals is carried out in-house. If the proposal is not suitable, the author will be informed as soon as possible. If the proposal passes this first stage, it is sent out to expert referees for their comments. The editor will endeavour to keep the author informed of the progress of a proposal. Ordinarily we require first refusal on projects that are offered to us, although this does depend on the project and the author. Authors are requested to state at the outset whether a project is being offered to other publishers.

Once advice has been taken and passed on to the author, the proposal must be approved by the Board of Delegates, a committee of senior Oxford academics who oversee the running of the Press, before a contract can be offered.

Different kinds of projects have different requirements. In what follows, there is advice on general submissions, as well as submitting a proposal for a doctoral thesis or an edited volume.

General Submissions
Please send a detailed description of the project covering the rationale for the project as a whole, detailed chapter abstracts, related works in the field, target readership, overall length and proposed submission date, as well as your own biographical details or CV. Please send any supporting sample material that you feel might be relevant (either chapters from the proposed book or journal articles on related topics), making very clear how these will fit into the final project. Both proposal and sample materials should be submitted and any typescripts or related materials should be in loose-leaf form rather than bound.

Edited Collections and Symposium Volumes
We very rarely take on edited collections or symposium volumes. However, any proposals of this type should ensure that the project is presented as a coherent volume on a recognisable theme. We also require a complete list of contents with confirmed contributors and short abstracts of what each chapter will cover. CVs for the editors are also required. If any chapters are available as samples these should be sent with the proposal. Again, the proposal and any supporting materials should be submitted and any typescripts or related materials should be in loose-leaf form rather than bound.

Doctoral Theses
Rather than just sending in the thesis, prospective authors are asked to provide further covering materials, giving a snapshot of the overall project. As above, please send a detailed description of the project covering the rationale for the project as a whole, detailed chapter abstracts, related works in the field, target readership, overall length and proposed submission date. It is also helpful to have a copy of the examiners' report, your CV and a note outlining the changes that you would make to the thesis to turn it into a book (updating, reducing surveys of the secondary literature in the area, addition or deletion of material, etc.). Once again, the proposal, and any supporting materials should be submitted and any typescripts or related materials should be in loose-leaf form rather than bound.