Submission Guidelines for Authors

Choosing a Publisher

Choosing the appropriate publisher for your book is an important part of the publication process. Publishers specialize, and a publishing house with a strong list in the academic or geographical area about which you are writing will do the best job of editing, producing, and marketing your book.

The University of Hawai`i Press publishes approximately eighty new books a year. Its publishing program reflects both the academic strengths of the university and the cultural milieu of the islands. The press is a leading scholarly publisher of works in Asian, Asian American, and Pacific studies in the humanities and in the social and natural sciences. Our general interest books concentrate on Hawai`i and the Pacific.

Submitting a Query/Proposal/Manuscript

The acquisitions editors welcome a query from you at any stage in the development and creation of your manuscript. As a first step send a short, informative cover letter including a clear and concise description of your work, its outstanding features, and your sense of the audience you are trying to address. Do not send a complete manuscript unsolicited. Tell us the current status of the manuscript and the date you expect to complete it, its length, and the number of illustrations, tables, and so forth that you envision including. Include as well a table of contents and a paragraph about yourself. We do not accept proposals, sample chapters, or full manuscripts submitted as e-mail attachments.

If your idea appeals to and is suitable for the press, you will be invited to discuss your proposal with an editor or to submit a partial or complete manuscript. We try to respond to prospective authors as promptly as possible, but we ask your patience. Because of the volume of proposals and manuscripts that we receive, and the expense of postage, we are unable to return manuscripts unless you provide a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Be sure to send us a clean copy of your manuscript, not the original.

After initial evaluation in-house, each manuscript deemed worthy is sent for peer review to two external readers—experts in appropriate fields of study—who submit detailed reports of their assessments. Manuscripts that receive favorable reports are presented to a faculty editorial board for acceptance or rejection.

If Your Manuscript is Accepted

Once the work is accepted, a contract is drawn up between the author and the press. More often than not, the author is asked to revise the manuscript in response to the suggestions of the peer reviewers. The final form of your manuscript is important. Manuscripts accepted for publication must be prepared electronically. Please consult our Guidelines for Submitting the Electronic Manuscript. We ask that authors follow the stylistic guidelines appropriate to their discipline in The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition.

After the press receives the manuscript, it is copy edited for substance and style, designed, typeset, printed, and bound. The author is given the opportunity to review the copyedited manuscript and later receives page proofs, which allow the author to check for typographical errors and to prepare the index. Because of the high cost of making changes in proof, only corrections of typographical errors are accepted in proof. While the book is being produced, its publication plan (print run, price, and publication date) is developed, promotional copy is written, and a sales campaign is planned.

If you have a manuscript, a proposal, or even an idea, we invite you to contact the appropriate editor from the following list. Whatever the outcome, we thank you for your interest in the publishing program of the University of Hawai`i Press.

Patricia Crosby
• East Asian Studies—all disciplines except literature and anthropology/sociology
• Buddhist Studies

Pamela Kelley
• Southeast Asian Studies—all disciplines
• East Asian literature, anthropology/sociology

Masako Ikeda
• Pacific Studies—all disciplines
• Hawaiian Studies—all disciplines
• Asian American Studies—all disciplines
• General interest books on Hawai`i and the Pacific

Keith Leber
• Natural history/science, including scholarly and popular guide books
• Reference books

Modified: August 2008