Book Proposals and Book Contracts in the Social Sciences:

In this workshop, faculty panelists will share their advice, tips, suggestions, and experiences on how to write and pitch a book proposal and how to get a book contract in the social sciences. Panelists will speak for about 30 minutes, followed by Q&A. This event is geared toward faculty at all ranks, as well as advanced graduate students.

Topics to be covered include:

• The current landscape of book publishing in the social sciences: how to know if you have a good idea and how to pitch it to an editor 

• How to find a publisher and how to know if it’s the right press for you 

• Pros and cons of different book formats -- monographs, textbooks, and edited collections -- and how they are generally evaluated for promotion and tenure

• The sequence of starting to write a book, from initial idea to the proposal review process, including how to respond to proposal reviews 

• The elements of a good social science proposal, including “extras” like online content and datasets

• What to look for in a book contract, including how to know what items are fixed versus negotiable

Faculty panelists:

• Gloria Chuku, Professor and Chair of Africana Studies, author of the monograph Igbo Women and Economic Transformation in Southeastern Nigeria, 1900-1960 (Routledge, 2005) and three edited collections, The Igbo Intellectual Tradition: Creative Conflict in African and African Diasporic Thought (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), Ethnicities, Nationalities, and Cross-Cultural Representations in Africa and the Diaspora (Carolina Academic Press, 2015), and Women and the Nigeria-Biafra War: Reframing Gender and Conflict in Africa (Lexington Books, 2020).

• Carolyn Forestiere, Professor and Chair of Political Science, author of the research methods textbook Beginning Research in Political Science (Oxford University Press, 2016, second edition forthcoming) and the edited collection Politica in Italia (Società editrice il Mulino, 2018).

• John Rennie Short, Professor of Public Policy, author of over 50 books, including World Regional Geography (Oxford University Press, 2020), Hosting The Olympic Games (Routledge, 2018), The Unequal City ( Routledge 2018) and Urban Theory (Palgrave Macmillan, 2nd ed, 2014), as well as a book editor for three book series (Edward Elgargar, Routledge, and Syracuse University Press).