Oxford University Press Guidelines for Authors

Submitted by Leanne Yanabu on February 7, 2011 - 11:32am

From Manuscript to Bound Book

Oxford University Press

Welcome to Oxford University Press

Oxford University Press was established in 1478, two years after William Caxton set up the first printing press in England. Theodoric Rood produced the first book produced at Oxford, the Commentary on the Apostles' Creed, attributed to St. Jerome. Over the next seven to eight years, some seventeen books were printed at Oxford, but then publishing ceased for almost a century. In 1586 Oxford University lent £100 to a local bookseller, Joseph Barnes, to set up a press, and before Barnes retired in 1617 he had printed up some three hundred books for Oxford.

Today Oxford University Press is the world's largest university press; worldwide, we publish more than three thousand new books each year, for both general and special interest audiences.

Our office in New York City was founded in 1896 as the first overseas branch of Oxford University Press. Initially, the U.S. office was established to sell books published in the U.K., but by the 1920s, the U.S. branch was publishing its own list of scholarly books. In 1930 we entered the college textbook market, and in the 1970s we began publishing medical and reference books. In addition, trade books and English-language teaching materials are published by Oxford-USA today. Still, academic books are the lifeblood of Oxford University Press. Currently, we publish scholarly books in all disciplines of the humanities and social sciences, sciences and medicine, and music. Oxford University Press fosters true scholarship and is committed to maintaining excellence in publishing.

We are pleased to have you as an Oxford University Press author, and we look forward to working with you to produce a fine book in the Oxford tradition.

Contents

GENERAL STYLE GUIDELINES

DOCUMENTATION OF SOURCES

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION

BOOK PRODUCTION

APPENDIXES

  1. Note and Bibliography Examples
  2. EDP Forms
  3. Author's Glossary of Editing and Production Terms
  4. Writing Tools

You can also search the Internet for guidance on editorial issues and style guides.

This manual describes the manuscript preparation and book production processes for academic books at Oxford University Press. We answer frequently asked questions and offer advice on ways to reduce delays and avoid misunderstandings. If these guidelines are followed, the editing and production process should stay on schedule and flow more smoothly.

We cover basic issues in language style; documentation of sources; illustration and table preparation; permissions problems; and special concerns involved in contributed volumes and revised editions. We provide instructions for electronic text and electronic art manuscript preparation. We describe the phases of the production process -- copyediting, design, typesetting, proofreading, and indexing -- as we provide a general time frame for bookmaking.

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