Guidelines for Volume Editors

The editors of contributed volumes must follow the Press’s standard guidelines for authors, but they also have additional responsibilities as outlined in the Guidelines for Volume Editors (click here to download PDF).

Guidelines for Indexing

In most cases, authors of scholarly books are required by contract to prepare (or hire a professional indexer to prepare) an index according to our Guidelines for Indexing (click here to download PDF).

The index must be prepared at the same time as you proofread page proofs (i.e., after copyediting and typesetting). The turnaround time is typically three to four weeks. If you wish to hire a professional indexer, the Press can recommend someone, or you can find one through the American Society for Indexing.

Guidelines for Copyright and Permissions

All copyrighted material in your manuscript requires written permission unless public domain or fair use apply. You are responsible for obtaining written permission to publish any copyrighted material in your manuscript, per the requirements outlined in the Guidelines for Copyright and Permissions (click here to download PDF).

Guidelines for Illustrations

All illustrations must be provided at the same time as your final manuscript, and they must meet the standards outlined in the Guideline for Illustrations (click here to download PDF) before your manuscript can be copyedited.

Guidelines for Manuscript Preparation and Submission

Before providing your final manuscript to the Press, we ask that you edit and format it to meet our requirements, as outlined in our Manuscript Preparation and Submission guidelines.

Click here to download the complete set of our Guidelines for Authors.

Although this series is open to all, the editors of Borderless are committed to publishing books written by women, people of color, people from the Global South, people from gender and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities (hidden and visible), Indigenous, Native, and First Nations people, stateless persons, and activist-intellectuals on the frontline of coalition and change. Series editors are open to working with authors whose first language is not English and encourage scholars writing in Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish, and Portuguese to contact us for more information.  

Borderless is currently accepting proposal submissions on an ongoing basis. Your proposal should be a Word document or PDF that includes the following:

• Project title and subtitle
• Names and affiliations of all authors/editors/contributors and CVs for authors/editors
• Overview of the project (from a few paragraphs to a few pages)
• Table of contents and detailed chapter outline
• Abstracts (for edited collections only)
• Manuscript specifics: estimated length (in word count), delivery date, art program (images, photographs, tables, figures, maps, etc.)
• Primary audience: e.g., academics, graduate or undergraduate students, activists, the general public (if the book is intended for classroom adoption, please list the courses for which you think it would be most appropriate)
• Three to five possible external reviewers (include titles, affiliations, and email addresses)
• Sample material: introduction and one substantive chapter

Please be sure your proposal answers the following questions:

• Borderless aims to publish manuscripts that cross disciplinary boundaries. What disciplines does the manuscript engage? (Please identify specific fields, theories, and methods.) 
• How does your book present an innovative way to think about action-oriented social justice research that is community centered and community driven? 
• How does your manuscript engage with interdisciplinary solutions to global injustice, connecting communities of resistance, and forming coalition and solidarity? 

Project proposals can be submitted to Lupe Davidson (lupe.davidson@mail.wvu.edu). In your email, please indicate which editor should review the project based on their areas of specialty:

Lupe Davidson: black feminism, women of color feminism, structural racism, gender and development, rhetorical theory/criticism, philosophy of race, social movement theory and social activism, anti-oppressive research methodologies, intersectionality, grassroots women’s organizations, LGBTQ+, women and peace building

John C. Harris: urban planning, gender and development, non-governmental organizations, participatory action research, photovoice and community engaged research, gender and violence, peace and development, genocide, built environment, post-conflict situations, grassroots women’s organizations, women and peace building

Jonathan C. Hall: ecology, settler colonialism, indigenous studies, geography and race, resilient communities, wild foods, food security, hunting and race, farming and seed cultivation, diversifying ecology and ecological research, conservation, water

David Monk: peace and justice studies, vocational education training (VET), transformative teaching and critical pedagogy, Canadian and Indigenous studies, land use, arts-based research, out of school youth, development in the Global South, non-governmental organizations, water use, water defenders, environmental justice, post-conflict societies, disability and development, women and peace building

Publish with WVU Press

Authors who would like West Virginia University Press to consider their work for publication should contact submissions@wvupress.com.

General guidelines for proposals are below. Email inquiries only. Please do not phone the office to discuss proposals or submissions, and please do not mail hard copies of your proposal or manuscript. We will not return mailed submissions. 

Guidelines for literary short fiction, fiction, and creative nonfiction submissions are here. 

Preparing a Book Proposal

Proposals should include, at a minimum, the following information:

1. An overview of the book including:
   • A summary of the book’s main argument, themes, and goals
   • A comparison of your book to others
   • A description of the target audience for your book
2. An annotated table of contents
3. Sample chapters, preferably including the introduction and at least one substantive chapter
4. Current curriculum vitae or biographical information
5. Manuscript specifics, including estimated length, delivery date, and any special requirements (e.g., artwork, tables, photographs, film stills)
6. Contact information for you, including mailing address, phone, and e-mail address

We do our best to respond to submissions in a timely manner, but due to our staff size and the steady flow of proposal submissions, our review of your proposal may take several weeks or months. Email inquiries to submissions@wvupress.com only. We cannot respond to phone calls or to mailed proposals or manuscripts. 

Resources for Authors and Writers:

Alfred Fortunato and Susan Rabiner, Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write Great Serious Nonfiction and Get It Published (WW Norton, 2003)

William Germano, From Dissertation to Book (University of Chicago Press, 2005)

William Germano, Getting It Published, 2nd Edition: A Guide for Scholars and Anyone Else Serious about Serious Books (University of Chicago Press, 2008)

Beth Luey, Handbook for Academic Authors (Cambridge University Press, 2002)
 
Beth Luey, Revising Your Dissertation: Advice from Leading Editors (University of California Press, 2007)

WVU Press House Style Guide

West Virginia University Press uses the following sources to resolve questions of grammar, punctuation, spelling, and style:

• The Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed.)
• Merriam-Webster’s Online (unabridged.merriam-webster.com and merriam-webster.com)
• Garner’s Modern English Usage (4th ed.)

The Press follows the recommendations in these three sources in nearly all cases. The WVU Press House Style Guide (click here to download PDF) provides exceptions to these sources as well as an overview of some common style points.

Of course, we acknowledge the validity of other style manuals and will follow the author’s choice of style as long as it is consistent, clear, and comprehensible to the reader.