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79 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138. Editor: Lindsay Waters. Logic and advanced texts, anthologies on special topics, translations, old-masters editions, original single- author works, philosophy for the general public and Loeb classics. In print: 100 cloth, 75 paper. Publishes 10 per year. Representative books: Nehamas, Nietzsche; Williams, Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy; BonJour, Structure of Empirical Knowledge; Quine; Kripke. Most wants "ambitious" books. Preferred method of contact: Letter of inquiry or personal contact with editor or field representative; submission of proposal or outline of book. Submit proposal or outline, introductory or several chapters, author's vita and references, evidence of book's market and comparison with similar books on market. Simultaneous and dot-matrix submissions rarely OK, electronic submissions will soon be OK. Receives 5-10 philosophy submissions per month. Reply time: 2 weeks-3 months.
Advance contracts: yes; terms vary. Advances: depends. Royalties: depends. Books "cheaper than others'." Time to publication: 7-9 months. Advertising in Journal of Philosophy, Philosophical Review. Complimentary copies: 10. Review copies: 35-75. Books set in type. Acid-free paper. Some simultaneous cloth/paper editions; paper editions depend on demand.
Editor rates quality of manuscript and timeliness of topic as most important, author's reputation very important, author's previous sales record somewhat important, readers' reports less important and in-house market analysis not at all important. Three-stage review process; internal review at Press, external review, presentation to Board of Syndics. Most common reason for rejection is that quality is not high enough.
Reviewer's comments: The Harvard University Press publishes classics of twentieth- century philosophy, with emphasis on American philosophers. Their selections range from William James's Works to contemporary figures such as Rawls, Quine and Kripke. Some major British figures are also included (e.g., Dummett). The books are generally scholarly and professional. Some are technical logic books (e.g., Van Heijenoort, Sourcebook in Mathematical Logic; Quine, Set Theory). Harvard's line also features religious philosophy, with much-cited works such as Wolfson's Philo and The Philosophy of the Church Fathers. Few authors are unknown. Most of Harvard's books are influential on fields other than philosophy and eminently readable by the educated public.
Bibliography, footnotes and documentation are generally of a very high scholarly level, with one or two notable exceptions that lack bibliography, footnotes or index. (JFS)
383 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10017. Editor: Karen Dubno. Introductory, advanced and logic texts, anthologies for survey courses and on special topics. Publishes 2-5 per year. Representative books: Christian, Philosophy: An Introduction to the Art of Wondering (4 edition); Baun, Logic (4 edition); Barry, Invitation to Critical Thinking. Most wants introduction to philosophy and introductory logic texts, books on critical thinking and ethics. Don't send high-level, specialized material. Preferred method of contact: Phone call or letter of inquiry, submission of proposal or outline or finished manuscript. Submit proposal or outline with several chapters of the book, author's vita and references, evidence of market for book and comparison with competition. Guidelines available. Simultaneous submissions OK, no dot-matrix or electronic submissions. Receives 10 philosophy submissions per month. Reply time: 6-8 weeks.
Advances: varies. Royalties: varies with financial profile of each book. Books $20-$30. Time to publication: 1 year. Advertising in APA Eastern Division Program Guide. Complimentary copies: 10. Review copies: 1,00-4,000. Books set in type. Not acid- free paper.
Publisher rates readers' reports, quality of manuscript and compatibility with Holt's line as most important; author's previous sales record and timeliness of topic also very important; in-house market analysis not at all important. Editor reviews submissions and sends promising material out for critique by instructors teaching course for which text intended. Most common reasons for rejection is that manuscripts review poorly or are too narrow or too broad for courses.
Reviewer's comments: Holt, Rinehart and Winston is strictly a mass-market publisher and as such will consider only mainstream, non-innovative books. Their books seem to use less than top-quality print and paper. Many contain bibliographies and name and subject indices. The list of philosophy books Holt, Rinehart and Winston publishes contains only textbooks and anthologies, mostly for introductory college courses. They specialize in books fo ethics, logic and introduction to philosophy courses. They do not favor "name" authors. (SA)
10 & Morton Sts., Bloomington, IN 47405. Editor: Janet Rabinowitch. Translations, old-masters editions, special series under a single editor and single-author original work, mainly in Continental philosophy, Peirce, philosophy of technology and philosophy of religion. In print: 75 cloth, 10 paper. Publishes 10-12 per year. Representative books: Heidegger, Basic Problems of Phenomenology; Edie, Speaking and Meaning; Sokolowski, Presence and Absence; Schurmann, Heidegger on Being and Acting; Peirce. Most wants Continental philosophy, phenomenology, hermeneutics, feminist philosophy, philosophy of technology and philosophy of religion. Preferred method of contact: Letter of inquiry with proposal or outline of book or finished manuscript. Submit book proposal or outline, table of contents and introductory or other chapters and vita and references for author. No simultaneous, dot-matrix or electronic submissions.
Advance contracts: sometimes. Advances: occasionally. Royalties: 6% of list price. Books $8.95-$35.00. Time to publication: 12 months. Advertising in relevant philosophy journals, New York Review of Books, Times Literary Supplement. Complimentary copies: 5. Review copies: 50. Books set in type. Acid-free paper. Simultaneous cloth/paper editions sometimes; paper editions when course potential. NEH subsidies for Heidegger and Peirce books.
Press rates readers' reports, quality of manuscript, timeliness of topic and compatibility with Press's line as most important; author's reputation and in-house market analysis somewhat important; author's previous sales record not at all important. Submissions receive in-house review by philosophy editor, then outside review by one or two expert readers.
Reviewer's comments: Indiana University Press has several series of interest to philosophers as well as a smaller assortment of books which are not parts of series. The series include Studies in Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy, (once published by the now-attenuated Northwestern University Press) James Edie, general editor; the Peirce Edition Project, under a group of editors; Advances in Semiotics, Thomas Sebeok, general editor; and a Women's Studies series. The most recent catalog of philosophy books had a table of contents divided as follows: Ethics and Religion, Heidegger, Peirce, Semiotics, Studies in Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy. This provides a good guide to the domain and limits of offerings in philosophy. The series that the Press supports are given pride of place in the philosophy offerings. Other offerings include translations, anthologies of numerous authors on a given general area (e.g., semiotics) and selected letters or essays by a single person (e.g., Hegel, Amery, respectively).
Indiana claims that it is "leading the field in women's studies." Although the series is about women it is not thereby written exclusively by and/or for women. While this series currently includes 15 academic areas besides philosophy, one assistant editor writes that "Indiana University Press is actively developing a publishing program in the area of women in/and philosophy." (DS)
P.O. Box 88, Mt. Airy, MD 21771. Editor: Lowell H. Hattery. Special-topic anthologies, original work by single author. In print: 2 cloth, 0 paper. Publishes 1 per year. Representative books: Richardson, Shaping Thought and Action; Hollander, Video Democracy. Most wants interdisciplinary books. Preferred method of contact: submission of book proposal or outline or the finished manuscript. Simultaneous and dot-matrix submissions OK, no electronic submissions. Reply time: 2 months.
Advance contracts: no. Advances: no. Royalties: negotiable. Books $20-$30. Time to publication: 12 months. Advertising: direct mail, professional conferences and journals. Complimentary copies: negotiable. Review copies: 100+. Books set in type. Not acid- free paper. No paper editions.
Editor rates quality of manuscript and compatibility with Lomond's line paramount; author's reputation somewhat important; timeliness of topic, in-house market analysis and readers' reports slightly important and author's previous sales record irrelevant. As a small press, Lomond can contract only for completed manuscripts. Interdisciplinary books have best chance.
27 S. Main St., Wolfeboro, NH 03894-2069. Editor: Wyatt Benner. Introductory, advanced and logic texts, special-topic anthologies, symposium collections/Festschriften, translations, old-masters editions, special series under single editor and original work by single authors in all areas of philosophy. In print: 50 books, both cloth and paper. Publishes 10 per year. Representative books: Wood, ed., Ludwig Wittgenstein: Critical Assessments (4 volumes); Kecreny, Dialogues with Contemporary Thinkers. Most wants books with intelligence and style. Don't send occult material. Preferred method of contact: Letter of inquiry or personal contact with philosophy editor, submission of book proposal or outline or finished manuscript. Submit vita and references as well. Simultaneous and dot-matrix submissions OK, electronic submissions OK in near future. Receives 5 philosophy submissions per month. Reply time: 1 month.
Advance contracts: yes; terms vary. Advances: no. Royalties: 7-1/2%. Books $6.95- $500. Time to publication: 6 months. Advertising by direct mail to libraries and academics; occasional space ads in philosophy journals. Complimentary copies: 5. Review copies: 15-20. Books set in type. Acid-free paper. Simultaneous cloth/paper editions sometimes; paper edition issued when strong response to cloth edition and book is suitable for course adoptions.
Publisher rates quality of manuscript most important; readers' reports next, followed by in-house market analysis. Author's reputation, timeliness of topic and compatibility with Longwood's line only slightly important. Most manuscripts get in-house review by two editors; technical subject matter sent out to philosophy professors in that area. Most common reason for rejection is incoherency.
Longwood is primarily a representative and distributor for British scholarly presses (Manchester University Press, The British Library, The British Academy, etc.), but it also has its own imprint for U.S. originals (i.e., Longwood Academic).
866 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017. Editor: Helen McInnis. Introductory, advanced and logic texts, anthologies for survey courses, translations (Library of Liberal Arts), old- masters editions, special series under single editor. In print: 30 cloth, 120 paper. Publishes 5-10 per year. Representative books: Cogni, Introduction to Logic; Thiroux, Ethics: Theory and Practice; Leiser, Liberty, Justice and Morals; DeGeorge, Business Ethics. Most wants introductory-level texts. Don't send scholarly monographs. Preferred method of contact: Letter of inquiry or personal contact with editor or field representative. Submit proposal or outline for book, author's vita and other material as appropriate, but never the finished manuscript. Simultaneous, dot-matrix, electronic submissions OK. Receives 5-10 philosophy submissions per month. Reply time: 6-8 weeks.
Advances: yes; terms vary. Royalties: standard range, depending on market. Books $14-$28. Time to publication: 1 year. Advertising in major academic journals and by direct mail. Complimentary copies: 6. Review copies: hundreds. Books set in type. Acid-free paper. Simultaneous cloth/paper editions rare.
Publisher rates quality of manuscript, timeliness of topic and readers' reports as extremely important; author's reputation and previous sales record and in-house market analysis also very important. Editors review proposal and evaluation of market and solicit outside reader reports. Most common reason for rejection is that manuscripts not appropriate for Macmillan's list.
1324 West Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53233. Editor: Paul McInerny. Symposium collections, translations, special series under a single editor, single author original works in all areas of philosophy, philosophy for the general public. In print: 50 cloth. Publishes 1 per year. Representative books: 1986 Aquinas lecture series sponsored by the Philosophy Department; O'Connell, Imagination and Metaphysics in St. Augustine. Preferred method of contact: Chairman in charge of the series production contacts an author selected by a committee. Manuscripts reviewed by the Philosophy Department.
Advance contracts: no. Complimentary copies: 10. Review copies: 25. Books set in type.
1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N. Y 10020. Editor: Bettina Anderson. Introductory, advanced and logic texts, anthologies for survey courses and, rarely, anthologies on special topics and old-masters editions. In print: 15 cloth, 20 paper. Publishes 5 per year. Representative books: Stumpf, Socrates to Sartre; Mappes and Zembaty, Social Ethics and Biomedical Ethics; Solomon, Morality and the Good Life; Barker, Elements of Logic. Most wants lower-level textbooks. Don't send monographs. Preferred method of contact: personal contact with field representative or letter of inquiry to philosophy editor with proposal or outline of book. Submit vita and references, evidence of market for book, comparison with other books on market, table of contents and introductory or sample chapters; don't submit complete manuscript unless requested. Simultaneous, dot-matrix, electronic submissions OK. Receives 20 philosophy submissions per month. Reply time: if interested, within 2 weeks, but can take up to several months.
Advance contracts: very rarely. Advances: depends. Royalties: depends. Books $14- $30. Time to publication: 9 months. Advertising: depends. Complimentary copies: depends. Books set in type. Acid-free paper. Simultaneous cloth/paper editions rare; paper editions brought out if determined to be cost-effective.
Editor rates author's reputation, quality of manuscript, timeliness of topic, in-house market analysis and readers' reports as extremely important; author's previous sales record not very important. Editor sends parts of or complete manuscript to three to five academic reviewers from a variety of schools. Manuscripts usually rejected because market not large enough or project not geared specifically enough toward particular (existing) courses.
Reviewer's comments: McGraw-Hill publishes textbooks and anthologies aimed at undergraduate courses, often at the introductory level. The areas most prominently represented are introduction to philosophy, logic (both formal and "critical thinking") and ethics (including applied areas such as biomedical and business ethics). Several anthologies (e.g. in applied ethics) have joint editorships which include non-philosophers. More than half the authors or editors are newcomers. The anthologies usually include introductory essays, bibliographies and study questions for each section. Length ranges from 128 pages (for a short introduction to ethics) to 896 pages (for an introduction-to-philosophy anthology). Prices are from $10 to just under $30. Of the 41 titles in McGraw-Hill's current list, six are new for 1986. (GFS)
936 Eastwind Drive, Westerville, OH 43081-3374.
Our questionnaire, clearly identifiable as such and explained in a short cover letter, received the following reply:
Dear Ms. Yudkin:
Thank you for your recent letter regarding your proposal entitled Guidebook for Publishing Philosophy.
Although this proposal is both interesting and informative, I regret that I must decline the opportunity to offer you a publishing proposal on behalf of Merrill. This decision in no way reflects upon the quality of the material you intend to present, but rather on the fact that a proposal of this nature simply does not fit our present publishing program. Of course, this is the opinion of only one publisher, and I recommend that you submit your proposal to other publishing houses.
In any event, I appreciate your interest in Merrill and wish you the best of success in making satisfactory publishing arrangements.
Sincerely,
Alan B. Borne, Director
College Division
Our follow-up letter to Mr. Borne was not answered.
28 Carleton St., Cambridge, MA 02142. Editors: Larry Cohen (philosophy of science and social theory); Harry Stanton (Bradford Books: philosophy of mind and philosophy of science). Advanced texts, special-topics anthologies, symposium collections/Festschriften (rarely), translations, special series, original works by single authors in philosophy of science, philosophy of mind (cognitive science), Continental philosophy, social theory. In print: 80 cloth, 50 paper. Publishes 10-15 per year. Representative books: Dennett, Elbow Room; Wang, Beyond Analytic Philosophy; Churchland, Neurophilosophy; Bloch, The Principle of Hope; Dallmayr, Polis and Praxis. Most wants philosophy of mind, of language and of science. Don't send literary theory, aesthetics, theology. Preferred method of contact: submission of proposal or outline of book. No simultaneous or dot- matrix submissions, electronic submissions OK if prior arrangements have been made. Receives 10 philosophy submissions per month. Reply time: varies greatly.
Advance contracts: occasionally. Advances: rarely; terms vary. Royalties: 10% of net. Time to publication: 9 months. Advertising in professional and general journals. Complimentary copies: about 10. Review copies: about 60. Books set in type. Acid-free paper for hardcovers. Simultaneous cloth/paper editions occasionally; paper editions according to market demand. Seeks subsidies mainly for translations.
Press rates author's reputation, quality of manuscript, compatibility with MIT's line and readers' reports as extremely important, timeliness of topic and in-house market analysis as important and author's previous sales record as less important. All projects must be peer- reviewed and approved by faculty editorial board.
Reviewer's comments: MIT Press concentrates its philosophy publishing in two distinct areas of contemporary interest. Its "Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought (GST) series includes works in translation by Habermas, Gadamer, Adorno, etc., as well as monographs and anthologies on these and other German philosophers. Under its "Bradford Books" imprint it publishes works in "cognitive science," including philosophy of mind, artificial intelligence, linguistics and psychology, as well as the connections between these areas. In each series monographs or collections of essays aimed at specialists predominate, though the Bradford series includes some books which are introductory surveys of the area in question. Well-known authors definitely outnumber newcomers. MIT books usually contain solid indexes and bibliographies, the latter often linked to the footnotes. Cloth editions are about triple the price of paper, which are (almost) reasonable ($8 to $15 or so). In both GST and Bradford some books appear in cloth only. In each series length ranges from monographs of under 200 pages to anthologies and monographs of over 700 pages. (GFS)
Scott Quadrangle, Athens, OH 45701. Editor: Holly Panich. Special-topics anthologies, translations, special series and single-author original work in Continental thought. In print: 20 cloth, 15 paper. Publishes 3 per year. Representative books: Gebser, The Ever-present Origin; Stroeker, Philosophical Investigations of Space. Most wants Continental thought. Don't send individual theory. Preferred method of contact: Letter of inquiry to editor with proposal or outline of book. Simultaneous, dot-matrix, electronic submissions OK. Receives 3 philosophy submissions per month. Reply time: 1-6 months (for acceptance).
Advance contracts: no. Advances: no. Royalties: 7-10%. Books $20-$35. Time to publication: 1 year. Advertising in seasonal catalogues, journals, direct mail pieces. Complimentary copies: 10. Review copies: 20-30. Books set in type. Acid-free paper. Simultaneous cloth/paper editions; paper editions according to market analysis.
Press rates quality of manuscript, readers' reports and compatibility with Ohio's line as extremely important; author's reputation and previous sales record and timeliness of topic as very important; in-house market analysis as important. For publication, need two reports on finished manuscript from specialist readers that recommend publication. Most common reasons for rejection are poor scholarship and no market.
Reviewer's comments: A large number of the titles published by Ohio University Press are volumes in their "Series in Continental Thought." Recent examples include John Sallis's The Gathering of Reason and Richard Zaner's The Context of Self. While written from a Continental perspective, the books in the series attempt to deal with issues of concern for philosophers outside the Continental tradition (e.g., analytic philosophy). The books generally make substantial use of secondary literature and attempt to place the problems they are dealing with in a historical perspective. The Press also publishes books that are broadly metaphysical in orientation. Two recent examples are Joseph Esposito's Evolutionary Metaphysics: The Development of Peirce's Theory of Categories and Howard Kainz's Hegel's Phenomenology, Part II.
Typically, books published by the Press run from 175 to 300 pages and hardbacks vary from $15 to $30. Indices range from nonexistent to very comprehensive. As with books in the Continental Series, there is usually considerable effort to supply historical context for ideas with liberal references to pertinent philosophical and historical sources. Citations of sources appear in footnotes that may either occur at the bottoms of pages or at the end of the book. Some books have separate bibliographies. The printing and binding are of very good quality, though diagrams are often hand drawn. (AW)
Box 599, Peru, IL 61354. Editor: David Ramsay Steele. Introductory, advanced and logic texts, anthologies for survey courses and on special topics, symposium collections/Festschriften, translations, old-masters editions, special series under single editor, original work by single authors in all areas of philosophy, philosophy for the general public, Library of Living Philosophers. In print: 100 cloth, 60 paper. Publishes 25 per year. Representative books: Bartley, Wittgenstein (revised ed.); Berkeley, Treatise/Dialogues (Warnock ed.); Schilpp, The Philosophy of Gabriel Marcel. Most wants philosophy of science and of religion. Preferred method of contact: Letter of inquiry proposal or outline of book. Submit vita and references, evidence of market for book, comparison with similar books on market and proposal or outline or complete manuscript. Simultaneous, dot-matrix submissions OK, no electronic submissions. Receives 50 philosophy submissions per month. Reply time: 6-12 months.
Advances: yes, for 80% of titles, $1,000-$2,000. Royalties: varies; usually sliding scale (e.g., 5-10-15)% of retail price. Books $4.95-$89.95. Time to publication: 18-24 months. (Little) advertising in Choice and similar publications. Complimentary copies: 17. Review copies: 50. Books set in type. Not always acid-free paper. Simultaneous cloth/paper editions; reprint in paper when sales expected to cover costs. Sometimes accepts offered subsidies if book is good anyway.
Steps in review process: Editor glances at material and usually rejects; if not obviously out, editor reads further; editor looks at budget, scheduling, etc.; editor discusses with knowledgeable people in the book's area and may commission reader's report; discussion with general manager, business manager, etc.; contract issued. Editor rates quality of manuscript as most important; author's reputation, in-house market analysis and readers' reports as important; author's previous sales record and timeliness of topic as slightly important. Most common reasons for rejection are Open Court's budget restraints, general poor quality and distance from Open Court's traditional specializations.
Reviewer's comments: Open Court publishes primarily classics, more obscure early works and scholarly-academic books in philosophy. They also publish the famous Library of Living Philosophers series (edited by Paul Schilpp). In recent years, according to an editor, they have been more interested in publishing trade market books for undergraduate and graduate courses in philosophy. They do not favor any particular school of philosophy or content areas, but "a major concern of Open Court has always been to interpret one culture to another: Continental Europe to the Anglo-Saxon world, and the East to the West." Open Court's books have good-quality print, paper and bindings. Footnotes appear at the bottom of the pages and books include bibliographies and name and subject indices when appropriate. (SA)
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