Proposals for new Legenda books
1. What we do and do not publish
The remit of Legenda is to publish advanced research in the modern Humanities and related fields. Legenda welcomes book proposals from established researchers and independent scholars with an academic background.
We publish books by researchers at all career stages: advanced, intermediate, and early-career. Approximately one third of our authors are early-career researchers: we welcome proposals developed from doctoral theses. We can only consider a proposal to publish a doctoral thesis once it has been passed by the examining university. A Ph.D. thesis may require considerable rewriting in order to be presented as a book to its best advantage. We do not consider proposals to publish theses submitted for degrees below that of Ph.D. (or D.Phil.).
While the core of our list is the study of European literatures, languages, and cultures, we have series devoted to cinema and to visual culture. We also publish in classics, music, history, fine arts, and philosophy, in cases where there is a strong connection to our main remit. ‘European’ includes literatures in English. We publish on Francophone literatures of Africa and the Caribbean, and on Spanish and Lusophone literatures of South America. Interdisciplinary and comparative studies are strongly encouraged. We do not normally publish translations or single lectures.
Except in the case of Research Monographs in French Studies series, which has its own guidance, there are no absolute rules about the length of a Legenda book. However, in most Legenda series we are unlikely to accept a monograph shorter than 60,000 words or longer than 100, 000 words. Most titles are around 80,000 words in length, including all notes and bibliography. In our experience, collective works, where authors contribute one chapter each, tend to be better at rather larger extents.
Legenda books are carefully edited, after detailed scrutiny of the MS, and are then produced to the highest standards. We do not require our authors to submit camera-ready copy, though we do ask for MSS to be submitted in good MHRA style and to provide accurate and complete bibliographic citation. Note that MHRA style was modernized in 2024, and all new Legenda titles should follow the 2024 style: the complete Style Guide, and a summary of the 2024 changes, are always available from the MHRA website.
Once production begins, the author is asked to cooperate with a professional copy-editor, and then to work through three levels of proofing. We also ask the author to prepare an index, though only once the book reaches proof stage (unlike some presses, we do not ask authors to index their books in advance). Like all publishers, we need authors who are happy to collaborate with us in a joint effort to produce the best possible book.
2. How to approach us
Proposals may be made either to the main editorial office of Legenda or to the chair of the book series in question. In general, we prefer not to receive manuscripts or sample chapters in the first instance: in the early stages, these are not the most useful materials for us to consider. Instead, please submit a formal proposal, as follows. The most convenient format for us is a Microsoft Word or PDF document sent by email to: Graham Nelson, the Managing Editor, at graham.nelson@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk.
To some extent the shape of a proposal must depend on the shape of the book it proposes, but the following general guidance may be helpful.
A good proposal amounts to five or six pages of text. It will provide a brief description of the book (about one page), clearly outlining how the proposed book relates to existing work in the field, and in what respects it breaks new ground. The proposal should also indicate why researchers working in other fields might be interested in the subject matter and the approach. The proposal will give a summary of the planned chapters, with each chapter summarised by a single paragraph.
Please indicate the expected time scale of the project. To what extent the book has already been written, and when you would expect to have a complete text ready? Please be realistic about this. We are entirely happy to discuss books which are still some way from completion. For us to take forward your book project, the work should, in principle, be ready to enter production within three years.
If your book is derived from a Ph.D. thesis, please indicate the university awarding the doctorate and the year of examination, and provide the names of the supervisor (or adviser) and the examiners. Their opinions will be sought and we may seek advice from other specialists.
If your book is an edited collection of papers, please indicate clearly who the contributors will be and follow the guidelines above when presenting your proposal. It is helpful to us to submit the proposal only when this is fairly advanced, rather than at a more tentative stage. If the book is a Festschrift, or intended to mark some anniversary or event, please indicate this. We expect Festschriften and commemorative books to be intellectually coherent volumes in their own right, rather than diffuse collections of essays by diverse hands. When you submit your book manuscript for peer review at Legenda, this is on the understanding that it is not also under consideration by another press.
3. What happens next
Proposals are considered in an open competition, and are subject to peer review. Readers of proposals and draft MSS remain anonymous to the intending author.
When your proposal is submitted, we will acknowledge its safe receipt and refer it to the Editorial Committee managing the most appropriate Legenda series to receive it: for example, a book on Goethe would be considered by the Editorial Committee for our Germanic Literatures series, so that the proposal would be considered by a range of Germanists, rather than by the full Legenda team of editors – which is some 80 people in size. On occasion, the potential series for a book is ambiguous, and in that case a proposal might be appraised by more than one editorial committee. In addition, editorial committees may consult outside experts.
We will normally respond to a proposal within a month of its submission.
If we decline your proposal, we will aim to give our reasons; if we wish to encourage your proposal, usually by asking to see a completed draft, we may offer some guidance on how it might be revised. In either case, comments from the Editorial Committee and from specialist readers will be quoted anonymously.
A legal contract for a book is usually not offered until the project has advanced to a point where all parties are happy with how the book will proceed through to publication. This happens at different times for different projects. We encourage proposals with the expectation that they will give rise to publication, subject to positive peer review and any necessary revisions.
- Susan Harrow, General Editor
- Graham Nelson, Managing Editor
(Last revised August 2025)