MHS Press Submission Guidelines

What to Submit

The Minnesota Historical Society Press and its imprint, Borealis Books, publish books on Minnesota and the Upper Midwest.

The Minnesota Historical Society Press publishes books on the history and culture of the Upper Midwest. Founded in 1859, it is the oldest publisher in the state and the largest historical society press in the country. We publish books for a broad audience of general readers and specialists interested in the region. Understanding that where we come from is crucial to knowing who we are, the press publishes books that explore the importance of place through its history, literature, natural history, landscape, art, architecture, sports, popular culture, and more.

Borealis Books, the trade imprint of the Minnesota Historical Society Press, publishes broader works of enduring value that illuminate our shared quest for identity, place, and heritage. Through a refreshing mix of memoir, art, biography, fiction, and literary nonfiction, Borealis Books question and ultimately transcend boundaries. While rooted in America's heartland, Borealis Books have universal and lasting appeal.

How to Submit a Proposal

We invite authors who wish to submit their work for consideration first to send us a proposal that includes the following information.

  • Author Information: Name, mailing address, phone, e-mail address. Enclose a current vita including information on present position, educational background, and previous publications. Please state ways in which you are qualified to write the book that you are proposing.
  • Working Title: Indicate the tentative title of the book, with subtitle, and, if desired, possible alternative titles.
  • Description of the Book: In about 250 words, describe the book that you are proposing. What is the nature, focus, purpose, or argument of the book? (Imagine that you are writing the description for the publisher's catalog.)
  • Table of Contents/Outline: Give a tentative table of contents by chapter. Beneath each chapter title give a brief outline or summary of the chapter.
  • Readership: For what audience, specifically, is the book written? What would attract a potential reader to buy this particular book? Does the book have potential for classroom use? If so, in what courses?
  • Market/Competition: List recent books in this same genre and subject, including publisher and retail price. What does your book offer that these books do not? How will your book be superior to or different from them?
  • Manuscript Length: What is the estimated length (word count) of the proposed manuscript? List the number of planned photos, illustrations, and maps.
  • Schedule: Indicate when you expect to complete the manuscript.
  • Sample Pages: Enclose 15 to 25 pages of the manuscript that illustrate your writing style. Provide a sample that is typical of the book as a whole, especially critical to your argument, potentially controversial, or a good overview of the book. Materials should be printed out in a 12-point font, double-spaced, on one side of each sheet. Works of fiction should be submitted in their entirety.

We request that submissions be made by mail, not e-mail. Address them to:

Acquisitions
Minnesota Historical Society Press
345 Kellogg Blvd. W.
St. Paul, MN 55102

Please let us know if you are submitting the proposal to other presses and call us immediately if it is accepted elsewhere. Do not send original materials. If you would like your proposal returned, include a self-addressed envelope and sufficient postage. We usually respond in six to eight weeks.

Instructions for Authors Preparing a Manuscript for Publication

After a manuscript has been accepted for publication, we ask that authors format the final draft as described below.

Typescript

Use the word processing program with which you are most comfortable; we are able to convert documents into MS Word for PC, which our editorial staff uses. (Users of Nota Bene should save their work in .rtf format.) The Minnesota Historical Society Press follows The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition.

Manuscripts should be printed in 12-point Times Roman, single-sided and double-spaced, with 1" margins, on 8-1/2 by 11" paper. Place page numbers in upper right-hand corner; number pages consecutively through the entire manuscript. Type all text in 12-point Times Roman, using bold face and underlining only when necessary to differentiate headings. Do not type any text in all capital letters unless it is within a quote. Set up indents for paragraphs and extracts with your word processor's indent function, rather than using tabs. Use a single hard return at the end of each paragraph (not an extra line). Double-space all text, including footnotes and extracts. Do not justify text, center text, or use automatic hyphenation.

Provide two unbound hard copies and a disk copy. Digital copy must match the printout exactly; there must be no handwritten corrections on the printout.

Confer with your editor on how to obtain permissions to use copyrighted materials and how to hire an indexer.

Graphics

Instructions are provided in "Digital Art Requirements for Submission," a pdf file that presents a set of guidelines used by the Association of American University Presses.

Submission Guidelines for Minnesota History magazine
 
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