Submission guidelines for monographs
In general, when preparing a proposal for a new monograph the more information you can provide the greater likelihood that your proposal will be accepted. We send all our proposals out for peer review and if there is not sufficient information reviewers are more likely to give a negative opinion of a project.
The following information is essential:
Title
Please give the provisional title of your project. In general, Pickering & Chatto favour relatively straightforward descriptive titles. For examples please consult our catalogue.
Reasons for the project
This is your opportunity to sell the idea for your project. At Pickering & Chatto we will need to sell your project to other academics in your field, to librarians, to distributors and to booksellers. We need your help to do this. In this information you need to convince us and our reviewers of the academic need for this project and also that there are enough people interested in the topic to make it a success.
Academic reasoning behind the proposal
Please set out the key themes and reasoning for your series or monograph. What will it set out to achieve? How will it relate to existing works? Is there a link to Pickering & Chatto’s existing or forthcoming works programme?
Who would be interested in purchasing this project once published ?
What are the main interest groups/societies? Which academic departments would be interested? Are there any relevant courses? Are some countries more interested in this topic than others?
If there is more than one interest group for the project please state who the primary interest group will be.
How your project relates to Pickering & Chatto
If this is similar to any existing Pickering & Chatto project please state which one and in what way.
Please state how this project would fit with the rest of the Pickering & Chatto list.
Who will be involved in the project?
We need details of who you are and why you are suitable to undertake this project with us. Please give biographical details for all the people you plan to involve in the project and their role. Also, please let us know if you have their agreement to be involved or whether you just think they should be involved. Please give the affiliations, addresses of all those involved together with details of any previous publications undertaken.
How will it be organised?
Once you have established the need to the project we also need details of how the monograph will be organized. This can be achieved by including an outline contents list or list of chapter headings.
Extent
The normal extent for one of our monographs should be 200-300 pages or 80,000 to 130,000 words including editorial apparatus. If you believe that your work will be of either a shorter or longer extent than this you should state so and give reasons for this.
Editorial apparatus - aims
Individual monographs which are aimed at a particular series need to ensure that they meet all the criteria of that series.
Sample chapter
In the case of individual monographs we would normally expect a draft sample of some of the work to accompany the proposal. This would normally take the form of a draft chapter or part of a chapter. Please make this sample as extensive and as representative as possible as this will enable our reviewers to gain a good understanding of what you are trying to achieve.
Presentation
Pickering & Chatto will normally expect to receive works as electronic processed documents together with an identical hard copy. In some instances we may explore the possibility of the author providing camera ready copy but this will be dependent of the author being able to demonstrate that he or she is able to produce material that is in accordance with and of a quality that meets Pickering & Chatto standards. If a number of illustrations are to be included or other matter including copyright material this should be stated in the proposal.
Timing
It is essential that we know how long a project is likely to take so that we can promote and schedule a project at the right time. Please give us your best estimate of the amount of time you require to complete a project. If there are any external events (such as a centenary or other anniversary, or a key academic conference) which might influence the timing of a project, then please give details. Also if a project depends on your getting external funding then please also give details of these timings.
Who can give an opinion?
As already mentioned, Pickering & Chatto ensures that all projects are peer reviewed to ensure academic relevance. If you know of people who are in a good position to give a fair opinion of your proposal then please give us details. Also details of the type of reviewer who would be relevant are useful. Please note that we wish our projects to be successful internationally and that we need to draw opinions from reviewers worldwide.
Other details
If you have any other information relating to the proposal then please do include it. For example you may have other plans for events, publications or research projects associated with the proposal. There may also be plans for electronic websites to support or supplement the proposal. Please give details no matter what stage these plans may have reached.
Thank you
Thank you in advance for any proposal you decide to send us. We are always happy to receive proposals and to discuss them with you. If you have any questions before submitting a proposal, our editorial team will be delighted to help you. Please email our Editorial Team.