Information for Prospective Authors
BEFORE YOU SUBMIT
Before submitting a proposal to us, please consider whether your project is appropriate for our list. We are actively acquiring books in African American studies; fairy-tale studies; film, television, and media studies; health humanities; Jewish studies; labor studies; and regional studies: books about the state of Michigan, the city of Detroit, and the Great Lakes region. We also acquire books of short fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry written by Michigan authors in our Made in Michigan Writers Series.
Wayne State University Press does not publish unrevised dissertations or festschriften.
HOW TO SEND MATERIALS AND TO WHOM
Submit April 1 through June 1 to the Made in Michigan Writers Series through Submittable: https://wsupress.submittable.com/submit
Send your proposal via email to wsupsubmissions@wayne.edu. Do NOT send a complete manuscript unless invited to do so by a WSUP editor.
Marie Sweetman – Senior Acquisitions Editor
Film, television, and media studies, fairy-tale studies, health humanities, Michigan creative writing, and books about Michigan and the Great Lakes region
Series: Contemporary Approaches to Film and Media, Queer Screens, TV Milestones, Donald Haase Series in Fairy-Tale Studies, Made in Michigan Writers Series, Great Lakes Book Series
Sandra Korn – Acquisitions Editor
Jewish studies, African American studies, labor studies, and books about Michigan and the Great Lakes region
Series: African American Life Series, Raphael Patai Series in Jewish Folklore and Anthropology, Great Lakes Books Series
WHAT TO INCLUDE
Your submission should give the Press’s editors and marketing staff—most of whom will not be specialists in your area—a clear and detailed idea of what your book will be about.
Your initial submission should include:
• A proposal as outlined below
• Your CV, resume, or a brief bio
• One or two sample chapters
THE PROPOSAL MUST INCLUDE:
- A few paragraphs summarizing the work, including descriptions of its focus, scope, purpose, and argument; what makes it significant, unique, or outstanding; the contribution it seeks to make or need it fills; and its intended audience(s).
- A table of contents, with detailed chapter synopses.
- If the work is a contributed volume, brief abstracts of the essays to be included (even if tentative) as well as short bios of the contributors.
- Specific details of the planned project, including estimated length (word count), approximate number and type of photos, maps, or other illustrative material you plan to include, and any other special features of the work.
- A description of competing books and how your book compares with them.
- Details of prior publication if any portions of the work have been published before.
- Your best estimate for when the manuscript will be complete.
- Let us know if you are submitting the proposal to other publishers.
WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT, AND HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?
Typically you will receive either an initial expression of interest or a rejection within twelve weeks. If the editor requests your manuscript and finds that it meets their expectations, the next step is to have the manuscript evaluated by outside peer reviewers. The review process normally takes three to six months. If the manuscript is being considered for inclusion in one of our book series, the series editor and/or a member of the series advisory board will also review the manuscript. If reviewers recommend publication and the Wayne State University Press Editorial Board approves the manuscript, then we will publish the book. Publication is generally twelve to eighteen months after we’ve received the final, approved manuscript.
