Submission Guidelines for Prospective Authors

CUHK Press publishes two types of books—academic books and general books, including original titles and translated titles from any language into English and Chinese.

• Academic Books: We publish scholarly works of China and Hong Kong Studies across a diverse array of academic disciplines, including but not limited to history, literature, art history, translation studies, cultural studies, political science, anthropology, and sociology. Please be noted that we do not consider any PhD dissertation or conference proceeding unless it has been substantially revised.

• General Books: We publish academic trade books, biographies, and nonfiction intended for the general public in Hong Kong. We do not consider fiction, drama, and poetry, except in special cases.

I. Academic Books

Proposal Guidelines

Please send us a proposal so that we can get a better sense of your project, assess its scholarly value and marketability, and more readily decide whether it would fit our publication scopes. Your proposal should include:

a. A summary of the manuscript

b. A description of its contribution to existing scholarship and its potential readership

c. A table of contents with a brief description of each chapter

d. A statement of any previously published material included in the manuscript

e. An indication of the manuscript length and its number of illustrations

f. A brief biography of the author(s) and/or editor(s) (and those of contributors in an edited volume)

g. Two sample chapters

Translated Manuscripts

a. What is the nature of the manuscript, and how important is it in its original language?

b. If an English/Chinese translation of this manuscript is desirable, who are the potential readers?

c. If there is another English/Chinese translation of this manuscript, how seriously will that compete?

d. How is this translation different from its original text for the need of new readership?

e. A bio of the author and the translator

f. A 3,000-word translation sample with the text in its original language

Book Series

a. The rationale of organizing such a book series

b. A list of proposed book manuscripts and their current status

c. A brief description of each manuscript, their lengths, and a biography of its author(s) or editor(s)

d. An account of the series editor(s) and how s/he is willing to get involved in the project

The Review Process 

a. CUHK Press will review submitted materials and respond within one month. Once an initial interest is indicated, the author will be requested to submit the complete manuscript.

b. All academic books by CUHK Press must undergo peer review by specialists in the field. Once your manuscript has passed through peer review, the Press will present it to our Editorial Subcommittee on Academic Books for approval.

c. After receiving the approval, our Editorial Division will conduct an in-house assessment to ensure the manuscript is ready and can move toward publication. We will also sign a publishing agreement with the author.

II. General Books

Proposal Guidelines

Please send us a proposal which should include:

a. A short description of the work and its potential readership

b. A table of contents with a brief description of each chapter 

c. A statement of any previously published material included in the manuscript

d. A discussion of comparable existing books, especially those published recently

e. An indication of the manuscript length and its number of illustrations

f. An estimated delivery date for a complete manuscript if unfinished

g. A brief biography of the author(s) 

h. An excerpt of the manuscript

The Review Process 

a. The proposal will be read and discussed by a wide range of staff within CUHK Press, including editorial, production, sales, marketing, and rights teams, as well as outside consultants if necessary.

b. The author will be contacted for additional materials or the complete manuscript. 

c. If the work is a good fit for CUHK Press, we will present it to our Editorial Subcommittee on General Books for approval. 

d. After receiving the approval, our Editorial Division will conduct an in-house assessment to ensure the manuscript is ready and can move toward publication.