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Considering sending us a proposal or manuscript?

We publish a range of non-fiction and poetry, but do not currently publish fiction.Please browse our website to make sure yours is the kind of book we publish.

Non-fiction submissions

Whether you are submitting a proposal or a finished manuscript, we need the following:

  • A contents page, an overall synopsis AND a brief chapter-by-chapter synopsis.
  • The full manuscript text OR, if the full manuscript is not yet available, two or more sample chapters.
  • A proposal document/covering letter telling us about the manuscript: what it aims to do; how it fits in with the existing literature on the topic; who the audience is; whether there will be illustrations/photos; your proposed timeline if writing is still underway.
  • An up-to-date CV.
  • If your manuscript is an edited collection it must consist of a well-chosen selection of essays that work together coherently. Authors should be encouraged to reference other essays in the collection. The editor(s) should provide a detailed introduction that outlines the book’s main themes, analyses the essays, and shows how they are connected. All essays should have a consistent format and style and be organised logically. Please include a list of contributors and their affiliations.

Acquisition decisions are made by our Editorial Board. The board sends promising manuscripts out to readers/peer reviewers. We will acknowledge receipt of your material immediately, but the assessment process can take time.

The deadlines for submission of material for consideration by the Editorial Board are:

  • 2025
    16 January
    29 April
    3 July
    4 September
    23 October

Poetry submissions

We publish only four or five poetry manuscripts a year. You are welcome to submit a manuscript in the knowledge that it is a highly competitive process.

There are four submission deadlines a year for poetry: 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October.

If you submit outside these dates, your manuscript will be considered on the next due date.

Please send us the following:

  • A full manuscript. (Note that we publish full-length books only, minimum 72pp).
  • An up-to-date CV.

Points to note about submissions

  • We do not accept submissions that are submitted simultaneously to multiple publishers.
  • Your newly completed thesis is unlikely to be publishable as a book without substantial revision. For some tips on how to approach this, you might like to check out the following link:    

    Turning your thesis into a book

We do not accept hard copy submissions. Please make your submission by email, including documents as attachments, to: oup.submissions@otago.ac.nz

If you have any queries that are not answered above, please email oup.submissions@otago.ac.nz

Please follow the Otago University Press instructions to prepare your manuscript for submission.

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