Acquisitions Specialties
Thomas Wells: American history, Tennessee studies, literature, historical archaeology, anthropology, folklore, vernacular architecture
Aidan Watson-Morris: Appalachian studies, southern history, literary criticism
Scot Danforth: America’s Baptists, music
Katie Hannah: children’s, memoir, true crime
Learn more about our acquisitions editors on our staff page.
Proposal Submission Guidelines
We’re delighted you want to work with UT Press!
Please review the Acquisitions Specialties above, and the proposal submission requirements below. Then, please fill out the form below or email your proposal to the appropriate editor.
We recommend you consult Laura Portwood-Stacer’s The Book Proposal Book: A Guide for Scholarly Authors and Jane Friedman’s posts on the subject as you prepare your proposal. Full manuscripts should be submitted only upon request.
Proposal submissions should include the following elements:
- Letter/email of inquiry, including an overview of your project
- At least two sample chapters (ideally the introduction and one key body chapter)
- A copy of your current résumé or CV
- Proposal document
The proposal document should include the following, in as much detail as possible:
- Title/Subtitle
- Reading line (one-sentence description of your book and why it matters right now)
- Hook/abstract/summary: Audience-focused description of the project, 150 words or fewer
- Word count
- Number and type of images (color vs. black-and-white, maps, photos, tables, etc.) and whether these are generated by you or owned by another entity
- Whether previously published material is included
- Whether you have simultaneously submitted this project elsewhere
- Estimated ready date of full manuscript
- Author biography (include contributor bios for edited collections), seventy-five words or fewer
- Detailed description of your project (one to three pages)
- Annotated table of contents with descriptions of each chapter
- Short list of potential peer reviewers
- Market insights
- Target audience/market/readership
- Similar/comparable/competing titles and their publishers
- Ways your title differs from similar titles
- Why UT Press is a good fit for your title
- Marketing plan: Your thoughts on how you plan to participate in the sales/marketing/publicity process, including target audience, bookstores or organizations you could host an event, relevant conferences, endorsements/blurbers, podcasts or other outlets that could feature your book, awards your book may be eligible for, among other things.
Failure to follow these guidelines may result in a delay in reviewing your project. Please keep in mind that careful review takes time, and it could be a few months before you hear from us.
Manuscript Submission Guidelines
Below authors will find guidelines for efficiently submitting their accepted manuscript to UT Press. Prospective authors who wish to submit a project for our consideration should instead review our proposal guidelines above.
Click below to view our Author Guide: