For Prospective Authors

NUS Press looks for academic or trade manuscripts with strong writing, original ideas, and important voices that will impact academic fields as well as influence public discourse. The Press is particularly interested in inter- or cross-disciplinary manuscripts that address these subjects: 

  • The Chinese overseas and the Chinese diaspora
  • The Malay World
  • Cinema, performance and media studies
  • The Asian city, urban science, urban history
  • Art history in Southeast Asian, Asian and global contexts
  • Transnational labour and population issues
  • Violence, trauma and memory
  • Ethnic identity, cultural resources and heritage
  • Popular culture in transnational perspectives
  • Contemporary religion

For more on what we can offer to prospective authors, see Why Publish with NUS Press.

Proposal Submissions

We accept proposals based on how the title fits into our publishing mission, how significant we believe the work will be will be to scholars working in the field, how we view the market for the book as described, etc. All accepted manuscripts are then subject to a stringent peer review process, and must be approved for publication by the University Publishing Committee, drawn from the NUS faculty. 

We do not accept unrevised dissertations, festschriften, conference proceedings, contemporary fiction or student work. 

We acknowledge receipt of proposals immediately and will let you know as soon as we can if we wish to proceed with next steps. Typically this process takes four weeks. However assessments of first books and edited volumes typically take longer, as they are considered in batches four times a year.

If we do proceed, the next step is generally requesting to see the full manuscript, or in some cases, seeking revisions in your proposal. The peer review process ideally takes two to three months but often does requires more time. An editor at the Press will advise you if there is any significant departure from this schedule. Rejected submissions will not be re-evaluated.

If you wish to submit a book proposal, please go to our online Proposal Submission Form. All proposals should come via that form.