Submitting a proposal

The University of North Texas Press publishes in the following areas:

Humanities and Social Sciences

With special emphasis on:

• Texas history and culture
• Military history
• Western history
• Criminal justice
• Folklore
• Multicultural topics
• Music
• Natural and environmental history
• Culinary history
• Women’s studies

If you write personal essays or memoirs on subjects outside the above list, please note that we rarely publish such works, unless they come to us as the winner of the manuscript competition held at the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference each July in Grapevine, Texas. We urge authors of these works to attend and enter this competition.

Poetry and Fiction

Submissions in poetry and fiction are invited only through the Vassar Miller Prize in Poetry and Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction competitions.

Special Series:

• A. C. Greene Series
• Al Filo: Mexican American Studies Series
• Contemporary Issues and Debates Series
• Evelyn Oppenheimer Series
• Frances B. Vick Series
• Great American Cooking Series
• Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction
• North Texas Crime and Criminal Justice Series
• North Texas Military Biography and Memoir Series
• Philosophy and the Environment Series
• Practical Guide Series
• Publications of the Texas Folklore Society
• Temple Big Thicket Series
• Texas Poets Series
• Texas Writers Series
• Vassar Miller Prize in Poetry
• War and the Southwest Series
• Western Life Series

How to Submit a Proposal

For submitting poetry and short fiction, please consult the guidelines below for the Vassar Miller Prize in Poetry and the Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction. We currently are not accepting fiction or poetry outside these series.

For all other subject areas, please send a query letter directed to the appropriate editor:

• Ronald Chrisman: Texas and Western History, Military History, Criminal Justice, Culinary History
• Amy Maddox: Music, Women’s Studies, Multicultural, Environmental Studies

Do NOT attempt to pitch your manuscript by phone. We deal with the written word in publishing and must see a query in writing first, by mail or e-mail.

Your query letter should explain your project, its purpose, primary audience, how it compares to similar books available, and why you are qualified to write about it. Also provide an approximate length or word count for your manuscript, including any illustration requirements you may have. Attach with the query letter a table of contents or annotated chapter outline, a short sample chapter, and a copy of your vita or a brief biographical paragraph. If mailing, and you would like your materials returned if we decline, then please include a self-addressed stamped envelope. For faster communication, please include your email address.

We will respond promptly, usually within 2-4 weeks, and let you know if we are interested in evaluating your manuscript for publication. If we are, we will request the full manuscript and copies of any illustrations you may have now. We will consider your manuscript so long as we are the only publisher currently evaluating it (i.e., no simultaneous submissions).

UNT Press Policy on the Use of AI Tools

In submitting your manuscript, you affirm that you are its author, as defined in your contract with UNT Press. Authors are fully responsible for the integrity and accuracy of their manuscripts, including any portions created by or with the assistance of AI tools, and are accountable for any ethical breaches that may result from the use of this content.

Authors who have used AI tools to create or assist with the creation of content in their work (text or illustration) must inform the Press of this use and provide a description of the use of such tools and generated content within the manuscript for transparency to readers. Basic AI tools used for grammar, spelling, proofreading, etc. need not be detailed and are considered editorial rather than creative tools.