Basalt Books welcomes proposals for book projects anchored in the Pacific Northwest, particularly those focusing on the people, places, and cultures of the greater Northwest region. We encourage both established and first-time writers to contact us with your ideas. We are committed to publishing well-written and well-told stories.

An imprint of Washington State University Press, our Basalt Books list of nonfiction will include general interest titles for young children to older readers—books on cooking, nature, history, science and more—all with a connection to the Northwest. We will consider works focusing on the arts, culture, and history of the Northwest for readers with varied interests, from regional food to the environment; from personal memoirs to professional biographies.

The information we ask for in your proposal will enable us to evaluate the potential for your work to fit our mission. Please provide a thorough overview of the work and include a writing sample that is representative of the style you plan for your work. Electronic submissions are welcomed and encouraged.

Upon receipt of your proposal, we will consider your planned work in light of our mission and our abilities to publish and promote it. If we find your work to be a good fit for Basalt Books, we will ask to see the complete manuscript. If the manuscript is yet to be completed, we will discuss with you the options for going forward. Once we proceed with a formal review of the manuscript, to include a peer and/or developmental review, a decision to publish usually takes several months. On average, books will publish 12 to 18 months after a contract for a manuscript has been finalized.

Thank you for considering Basalt Books for your next book!

Rock Solid Northwest Reads

Proposal Elements:

1. A summary of the proposed work.
   • What is the book about? Describe the content of the book you are proposing, articulating its scope, purpose, and your rationale for writing the book
   • Who is your intended audience? Identify the readers you anticipate being interested in the book (e.g., history buffs, lovers of sea stories). What is it about your work that will make it compelling reading?
   • How does your work compare to other books? Tell us how your work relates to other published books. What is unique and/or compelling about your project? What sets it apart from other work? Please include the author(s), title, publisher, and date of publication of significant comparable books.
2. The specifications of the work:
   • Estimated length, including notes and bibliography. Please use total word count or an estimate based on the number of words per typed page.
   • Number and type of illustrations you plan to accompany the text, if any. Please specify color and/or black-and-white photographs, line drawings, maps, charts, graphs, and any other graphic images.
3. Projected completion date of the manuscript, if it is not yet fully drafted.
4. A table of contents with a brief summary of each chapter. Please indicate whether any sections of your work have been published previously, including where, when, and by whom.
5. One or two sample chapters that are representative of the work. A draft of the introduction is encouraged and can take the place of a sample chapter.
6. A copy of your resume or CV, including your contact information, occupation, education, book publications (with publisher and publication date), articles, websites, online postings, and social media accounts/activities.
7. Potential grants or sources of funds you are aware of that might be tapped to offset the cost of publication
8. Other issues or concerns regarding the book’s publication, such as your desire to have the book available by a specific date. If you are submitting your project to other publishers simultaneously, please note this circumstance.

Project proposals should be directed to:

Linda Bathgate, Editor-in-Chief
WSU Press
Cooper Publications Building
PO Box 645910
Pullman, WA 99164-5910
509-335-7630

Electronic submissions are encouraged: linda.bathgate@wsu.edu