Submit a Book Proposal

Scottish Universities Press (SUP) welcomes proposals for monographs and edited collections in any subject by researchers at Scottish HEIs, the Open University and Queen’s University Belfast.

Before submitting your proposal you may wish to view the About section and the FAQs to learn more about SUP.

You can also download a handy infographic explaining the book proposal workflow here: SUP Infographic

SUP is not yet accepting proposals for textbooks or journals. We plan to expand to other types of content from 2025 onwards.

Book Proposal Form

SUP will accept proposals using the following form: SUP Book Proposal Form

The form contains guidance on how to complete the questions. Please be as detailed as possible, the information you provide will be used by the SUP Editorial Board and peer reviewers to determine the suitability of your proposed book for publication with SUP.

We will also accept up to two sample chapters. Please send these along with the proposal as separate files in Microsoft Word format.

If your proposal if for an edited collection, please see the additional guidance available to download here: SUP Guidance for Edited Collection Proposals.

Before submitting your proposal, please note the following:

  • All books will be published open access with Creative Commons licences on the SUP platform. While SUP prefers CC BY-NC, this is not restrictive and authors are able to select the Creative Commons licence they require (e.g., to meet funder requirements). Please get in touch if you wish to discuss the licence options, or visit the Creative Commons website to learn more.

  • While SUP operates on a not-for-profit basis and is supported by subscriptions from participating institutions, to cover the costs of producing the book SUP require the payment of a modest production charge. See the Costs section for more information. The production charge will be agreed at the contract stage and depends on the length and complexity of the book. Please contact us if you do not have funding to cover the production charge.

  • If your book will contain any third-party material, such as illustrations, it is the author’s responsibility to ensure all the correct copyright permissions are in place. When you request permission from the rights holder you must make them aware that the content will appear in an open access book and inform them of the licence you will use (e.g. CC BY-NC). It is a good idea to start the process as early as possible. Please see the OA Books Toolkit for more information on third party permissions in OA Books. SUP can provide advice on this if required, please contact us.

  • SUP does not normally publish unrevised theses, however we will consider proposals for monographs that are based on PhD research. You should demonstrate in your proposal how the book will differ from the thesis. SUP is currently scoping how to best support Early Career Researchers (ECRs) in publishing their first monograph.

  • SUP does not republish content unless there is a specific reason to do so. If the entire work has previously been published elsewhere, for example on a repository or other research platform, please indicate your reasons for submitting your proposal to SUP for publication.

  • Multiple submissions policy: proposals submitted to SUP should not be under review with other publishers. SUP is not able to progress with proposals that have been submitted to other publishers for consideration.

Please send the completed proposal form as a Microsoft Word attachment, along with any sample chapters, to Paul Clarke, Scottish Universities Press Commissioning Editor, editorial@sup.ac.uk.

If you have any questions about the proposal form or wish to discuss your proposal then please contact us.

Next Steps

SUP staff will review your proposal to check it is within scope for publication with SUP. The proposal will then be reviewed by the SUP Commissioning Editor and if accepted will be sent for external peer review. SUP staff will communicate with you regularly throughout the process.  A final publishing decision will be made by the Editorial Board and if accepted a contract will be agreed. Publication will be dependent on the successful peer review of the completed manuscript. The manuscript will then enter the production workflow. Please see the Peer Review section for more information.