Submission Guidelines

The University of Iowa Press seeks proposals to add to its strong lists in the following areas: literary studies, including Whitman studies and poetics; letters and diaries; American studies; literary nonfiction and thematic edited anthologies, particularly poetry anthologies; the craft of writing; literature and medicine; theatre studies; archaeology; the natural history of the Upper Midwest; and regional history and culture. We publish single-author short fiction and poetry through series only.

Please refer to our series for information about submitting proposals for the American Land and Life Series, Bur Oak Books and Bur Oak Guides, Contemporary North American Poetry Series, Iowa Poetry Prize, Iowa Short Fiction Award, Iowa Whitman Series, Kuhl House Poets, Sightline Books: The Iowa Series in Literary Nonfiction, Studies in Theatre History and Culture, and Writers in Their Own Time.

We concentrate on U.S. literature, especially contemporary and comparative studies, biography, poetics, and women’s studies. We are especially interested in publishing letters and diaries edited by scholars. We seek original manuscripts addressing artistic and stylistic issues of writing in all disciplines.

We are actively seeking literary works dealing with the intersection of the humanities and medicine, works of narrative medicine, fiction, poetry, and memoir by health care professionals and patients, and conceptual works that illuminate health and illness from the perspective of the humanities.

We also publish works on archaeology, focusing primarily on the Andean region. We have recently published titles on midwestern archaeology.

Our Bur Oak Books and Bur Oak Guides focus on environmental issues that affect the plants and animals of the Midwest, particularly prairie species. Our popular laminated pocket guides cover subjects from winter birds to woodland plants. In addition, we welcome nonfiction manuscripts that consider all aspects of midwestern literature, history, and culture.

We are also interested in out-of-print books in these areas that would be strong candidates for reissue.

Please see the guidelines specific to our series, or contact Holly Carver, Director, holly-carver@uiowa.edu, or Joseph Parsons, Acquisitions Editor, joseph-parsons@uiowa.edu.

One of the first—and most important—decisions an author should make is where to submit his or her proposal. Every publishing house, large or small, has its own strengths. Before submitting your proposal, consider which press has published the books in your field that you admire most. Which publishers’ lists include books that are related to yours?

Likewise, please consider the sorts of books a press does not publish. In the case of the University of Iowa Press, we do not publish conference proceedings or symposium volumes, Festschriften, drama, novels, or unrevised doctoral dissertations (for advice on revising your dissertation, please see our guide).

Your proposal should give the editors and marketing staff a clear idea of what your book will be about, how you came to write this book at this point in your career, and where the work fits within your field. In preparing your proposal, it may be helpful to consider questions such as these:

• What problems are you setting out to solve?
• What confusions do you wish to clarify?
• What previously unknown or neglected story are you planning to tell?
• Why is this book important?

Editors and marketing professionals are also interested in knowing what potential audiences you foresee. Is your book for specialists in your field, or will it appeal to a broader audience? Is this book intended for use by students? Is there potential for classroom adoption? Is this a trade book, intended for general readers?

Initial submissions should include the following.

• A brief narrative description of the book, including its themes, arguments, goals, and place in the literature.
•  A description of the projected audience and competing titles.
•  A brief statement on how the manuscript fits within our list.
•  An estimate of the probable length of the book (both a page count and a word count are helpful), numbers of illustrations and tables, and a note on potential permissions issues (reproduction of illustrations or excerpts of poetry or musical lyrics).
•  A table of contents with brief descriptions of each chapter.
•  The introduction and another sample chapter (about 50-60 pages altogether).
•  A current vita for the author(s) or editor(s) summarizing professional experience, past publications, and relevant research.
•  For multiauthored works, please identify which authors have committed themselves to contributing to the book and which are still negotiating. Also note whether any of the material has been previously published, and where.
•  If the manuscript is not complete, please provide a projected completion date

We prefer all manuscript materials to be printed double-spaced, preferably using 12-point Courier, on one side of the paper. We cannot accept submissions by e-mail, but please include your e-mail address for a quick response. Our typical response time for a preliminary inquiry is about 5 to 6 weeks. To save on mailing costs, we recycle manuscript materials, so please keep the originals and send us a copy.

We look forward to hearing from you.