The press accepts poetry submissions only through the Hollis Summers Poetry Prize competition. If you’d like to submit your manuscript, please see Hollis Summers Poetry Prize for more information.
Submitting a Book Proposal
We request that you not submit your complete manuscript unless an editor has invited you to do so.
Your proposal should include a cover letter that includes a narrative description (2–4 typescript pages) of the proposed book’s content and scope. It should answer the following questions:
- What is the rationale for publishing by the Ohio University Press?
- What is the contribution of your proposed book to the field?
- How does it engage with the extant literature or fill a gap in that literature?
- What are three competing books in the field? How does your work compare with other literature on the subject?
- What distinguishes your work from these works?
- To what audience is your work addressed?
- Is the book under consideration with another press?
- Has any portion of the book been previously published? If so, where?
- Is this book based on a dissertation? If so, is it under embargo?
Your proposal should also include:
- A table of contents
- A sample chapter, or two
- The anticipated length of the manuscript
- The anticipated date of completion (if still a work-in-progress)
- An up-to-date copy of your curriculum vitae
Please send proposals related to Appalachian studies to Tyler Balli at tylerballi@ohio.edu. All other submissions should be sent to editor in chief Rick Huard at huard@ohio.edu.
Ohio University Press prefers manuscripts of approximately 90,000 words in length (including notes, bibliography, and appendices), but in no case more than 100,000 except by specific agreement with the acquiring editor. The press allots space for up to twelve black-and-white images and maps for monographs or two per chapter (average) for edited collections.