TCU Press publishes nine to twelve titles each year, approximately half in the spring and half in the fall. Our list focuses on titles related to Texas, the American West, and Latin America. The press has a particular interest in women's studies, Latin American studies, and biography. Occasionally a memoir or collection of personal essays is included on the list, but these are not generally solicited.

Non-Fiction

TCU Press is at heart an academic press; therefore, most non-fiction requires thorough documentation and bibliography. See, for example, Updating the Literary West, a project of the Western Literature Association, or, for a less formal presentation, Larry L. King: A Writer's Life in Letters, Or, Reflections in a Bloodshot Eye, edited by Richard Holland.

Style

The editors at TCU Press generally follow guidelines in The Chicago Manual of Style (14th edition), although we do make exceptions. After a manuscript is accepted, authors should consult with TCU Press staff about in-house style.

Fiction

TCU Press publishes original regional literary fiction but does not consider genre fiction nor manuscripts that are clearly suited to a commercial publishing house. See, for example, Reynolds, by Donley Watt, or Isle of Misfortune, by Geoffrey Leavenworth.

TCU Press reprints classic Texas novels in its Texas Tradition Series. Letters suggesting titles are welcome, but submissions as such are not invited.

How to Submit

Please do not send an entire manuscript. Address query letters and/or proposals to Judy Alter, director and acquisitions editor. The address is Box 298300, Fort Worth, Texas, 76129.

Nonfiction proposals should include a letter describing the project, a table of contents, introduction, and sample. For fiction, please send a plot synopsis and a short sample.

Simultaneous submissions are not encouraged.

The Manuscript

The press requires a clean copy of the manuscript along with a disk that can be read in Microsoft Word 97, Microsoft Word 2001 or Word Perfect 6.0 for Macintosh. On the disk, please name the files in order: Ch01, Ch02, etc. Create a separate file each for bibliography, front matter, notes, appendices, etc. Please provide a list of files and their titles. Front matter includes title page, dedication, epigraph, contents, list of illustrations or tables, preface, acknowledgments, and introduction or foreword. Back matter includes notes, bibliography, appendices, index, and/or glossary.

Manuscripts must be double-spaced (including indented quotations, epigraphs, captions, notes, and bibliography), with one-inch margins on all sides, on 8-1/2" x 11" white paper, one side only. Delete all special formatting--justification and proportional letter spacing for example--and keep special fonts such as boldface and italic to a minimum since these commands must be removed for typesetting.

Check with TCU Press staff before using any word-processing footnote system. The press prefers endnotes, grouped by chapter at the end of the manuscript, rather than footnotes on each page.

Number the pages consecutively throughout the manuscript. Do not use double spaces between sentences, after colons or anywhere else in the manuscript. Use the tab to indent paragraphs rather than the space bar.

The design of the text and cover is the responsibility of the TCU Press staff. Author suggestions are appreciated, but the final decision rests with the press editors and designers.

Submission

Manuscripts are first evaluated in the editorial offices. If a work seems appropriate for our list, it is then sent out to one or more outside reviewers--specialists in the field--who remain anonymous to the author. Readers are asked to recommend for or against publication and to provide, where indicated, specific suggestions on revisions, etc. It is often several weeks before readers' reports are received. If extensive revision is suggested, we may ask authors to make changes before continuing the review process.

When a manuscript is recommended by outside readers, it is presented to the TCU Press Editorial Advisory Board, along with the readers' comments. The board makes the final decision on publication.

Rights and Permissions

Authors are responsible for seeing that manuscripts do not violate copyright laws. Permission is required for use of letters (the author, not the recipient, holds the rights), music or lyrics, poetry, reproductions of artwork, photographs, and illustrations. Signed releases must be obtained from the subjects of interviews.

Authors are responsible for securing illustrations and maps, as well as permission for their use. Any related fees are also the responsibility of the author.

The Index

The index is the author's responsibility; some may want to hire a professional indexer, while others may wish to organize the index themselves. The index must be provided within the time specified in the contract.

Marketing

TCU Press titles are distributed through a consortium headquartered at Texas A&M University Press and are generally sold in the large chain bookstores, on the Web, in independent bookstores, through the catalog, and by direct mail. Sales representatives carry the books to national and international markets when appropriate. Books are displayed at appropriate major conferences.

You will be asked to be a major part of the promotion of your book-making appearances at conferences and in bookstores, suggesting review media, etc.