Submission Guidelines

The University of Utah Press is delighted to consider your book for publication! Our goal is to produce an attractive, high-quality book, and to do this, we need your help.

The University of Utah Press invites submission of proposals and manuscripts in the areas of anthropology and archaeology; Mesoamerican, American Indian, Mormon, and Middle East studies; regional and Utah guidebooks; natural history and nature writing; general titles of regional interest; American West, Utah, and environmental history; and autobiography/memoir.

We ask that you take the time to read the following guidelines and prepare your proposal and manuscript in accordance with them. Below you will find all the necessary information and forms.

Book Proposal

The book proposal introduces you and your work to the editor and the press. Please include the following:

• A cover letter that contains:
  • A description of your book, your purpose in writing it, and its significant contribution or features
  • The audience or market for the book (scholarly, general reader, course adoption)
  • How your book is different from others that are similar to yours
  • Estimated number of words and manuscript pages (double-spaced, 12-point, and specify font), number of photographs (color or black & white) and maps, graphs, tables, drawings, etc.
  • If the manuscript is not complete, estimate how long it will take to finish it
  • If the manuscript is an edited volume: the source of the contributions and a list of expected contributing authors, whether the essays have been previously published or presented at a conference, and if you will have to pay for permissions
• A table of contents, if one is available
• The introduction or preface and a sample chapter
• Contact the appropriate editor. You can email or mail your proposal to the office. Find our editors' contact info here.

Manuscript Submission

After reviewing your proposal, if the acquisitions editor considers your manuscript promising, he or she will ask to see a complete manuscript. If, after further review, the press wishes to consider your work for possible publication, it will be sent to at least two qualified peer reviewers for a more comprehensive evaluation. All manuscripts considered for publication must also be approved by the University Press Faculty Advisory Committee. If your work is accepted, a contract is issued and you will be asked to submit your final manuscript, pending any remaining revisions.

Please see the following links for information on and requirements for submitting manuscripts for specific press prizes:
Agha Shahid Ali Poetry Prize
Don D. and Catherine S. Fowler Prize

Final Manuscript Preparation

For details on the content, style, formatting, digital art requirements, and delivery requirements for your manuscript, please contact your acquiring editor and consult the following guidelines.

Digital Art Preparation Guidelines (pdf)
Submission Guidelines for Monographs (pdf)
Submission Guidelines for Edited Volumes (pdf)

Marketing Your Book

For an overview of our marketing process, answers to some frequently asked questions, and a list of actions that you can take to improve the marketing of your book, please read the following document.

Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)
In order to create a marketing and publicity campaign for your book, we require that you complete an author questionnaire as soon as possible. Please complete the following form and return it to the Marketing Department by e-mail at hannah.new@utah.edu.

Author Questionnaire (Microsoft Word document)

Royalties

Please return a completed, signed, and dated W-9 as soon as possible. Our accounts payable department requires us to have an updated W-9 on file in order to process any payment. We also need a new W-9 as soon as possible after any change of address.

A W-9 form may be completed online and printed.
W-9s should be sent to the attention of Steve Mecham, Business Manager.
All inquiries regarding royalties should be directed to Steve Mecham at 801-585-0082 or Steve.Mecham@utah.edu.

 

Please return all forms by mail or fax to:
The University of Utah Press
J. Willard Marriott Library
295 South 1500 East, Suite 5400
Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-0860
Fax: 801-581-3365