If you are an author of a scholarly book or work of reference for the academic readership, then we may be able to consider it for publication. However, you should read the following before getting in touch with us. If you do wish to submit a proposal for a book to us, then please use our New Book Proposal Form, which can be downloaded here.
Please send completed forms by email to publishing@jamesclarke.co.uk, or by post to The Lutterworth Press, PO Box 60, Cambridge, CB1 2NT, United Kingdom.
What We Are Looking For
About Your Book
We only consider scholarly works of non-fiction or works of reference, mainly in the humanities, and in particular in theology, history or related areas. We generally expect to take on books that offer some original scholarship based on a solid critical aparatus, or alternatively present a well-argued and authoritative case for reinterpretation of a particular subject.
If your work would be suitable for a more general readership, please consider submitting your proposal to our sister imprint, The Lutterworth Press.
About Your Market
While we encourage submissions for books about a wide range of subject areas, we are a commercial publishing house that has to make a profit from the books we publish, so it is vital that you can tell us about the potential market for your book, and about how it may be reached. The more that you can tell us about this, the easier it will be for us to consider your book favourably.
In some cases where we think a book is worth publishing, but cannot see enough market potential to make a profit, we may offer to publish the book but ask for a subvention towards the costs of publishing it. If your university or department or an academic foundation is prepared to offer a contribution towards the publishing costs, please let us know details of the amount and also any special conditions.
About You
The most successful publishing is the result of close co-operation between author and publisher, and so we need to know what you will be doing to help us promote and sell the book. Will you be speaking at conferences or in the broadcast media about the subject to promote the book? Will you help build up interest by writing articles? Do you have a website or social media following that attracts visitors to whom you can try to sell the book? If so, please ensure that you include this information when completing our proposal form; doing so will make a great difference.
Sending Your Typescript
You are welcome to submit an electronic version of your typescript along with the completed New Book Proposal Form. We would prefer to receive material electronically, but If you do send us your typescript by post we will only be able to return it to you if you send us postage (a cheque in sterling, US dollars or Euros, British postal stamps or international reply paid coupons) to do so. We can in any case take no liability for lost typescripts or material, so please do not send us valuable photos or original artwork or other original material until we have agreed to publish.