Publication Guide
Manchester University Press (MUP) is the university press of the University of Manchester, founded in 1904 and today one of the UK's larger university presses. Unlike the mega-publishers, MUP is book-led: its reputation rests on monographs and edited collections in history, politics, international relations, literature, theatre, and visual culture. Its journal list is small and curated — around five active titles hosted on the press's manchesterhive platform — but it includes genuinely distinctive venues, among them two fully open-access journals that charge authors nothing: the James Baldwin Review and the Journal of Humanitarian Affairs.
This guide covers what MUP publishes, which of its journals fits your paper, the open-access picture (unusually author-friendly), how peer review works, and how to submit.
Which Manchester University Press journal fits your paper?
| You're most likely to... | Choose this route |
|---|---|
| Work on James Baldwin, his circle, or his cultural afterlives | James Baldwin Review — an annual, fully open-access journal of Baldwin scholarship; no APC; indexed in DOAJ. |
| Research humanitarianism, aid policy, or crisis response | Journal of Humanitarian Affairs — open access with no APC; publishes research and practice-facing analysis; DOAJ-indexed. |
| Study manuscripts, archives, book history, or religious texts | Bulletin of the John Rylands Library — one of the longest-running MUP journals, tied to the John Rylands Research Institute and Library collections. |
| Work on the interdisciplinary study of mass violence and its material aftermath | Human Remains and Violence — an interdisciplinary MUP journal spanning history, anthropology, and forensic contexts. |
| Write on cinema history, theory, or film culture | Film Studies — MUP's film journal; check the journal page for its current publication status before submitting, as recent output has paused. |
| Have a book-length project in the humanities or social sciences | MUP Books — the core of the press: monographs, edited collections, and open-access books via Manchester Open Hive. |
Note for returning authors: several journals historically associated with MUP have moved. Gothic Studies is now published by Edinburgh University Press, and Northern History is published by Routledge (Taylor & Francis) — submit to those publishers directly.
What Manchester University Press actually publishes
- Books first. MUP publishes well over a hundred new books a year across history, politics, international law, literature, theatre studies, and visual culture, with strong series in area studies and medieval and early modern history.
- A small journal list. The active portfolio centers on the Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, James Baldwin Review, Journal of Humanitarian Affairs, and Human Remains and Violence, all hosted on manchesterhive.
- Open-access books. Through Manchester Open Hive and initiatives such as Knowledge Unlatched, MUP makes a growing share of its monographs freely available.
Open access and fees
MUP's journal open-access model is one of the most author-friendly you will find, because its flagship OA titles are diamond OA — free for both authors and readers.
| Route | What it means at MUP | Cost to author |
|---|---|---|
| Diamond / Gold OA journals | James Baldwin Review and Journal of Humanitarian Affairs are fully OA, DOAJ-indexed, published under CC BY-NC-ND licenses | $0 — no APC |
| Subscription journals | Titles such as the Bulletin of the John Rylands Library are read via institutional access on manchesterhive | $0 to publish |
| Green OA (self-archiving) | Authors can typically deposit accepted manuscripts in institutional repositories — check the per-journal policy | $0 |
| OA books | Manchester Open Hive and consortial funding models open selected monographs | Usually grant- or library-funded |
Because fees and licenses are set per title and can change, always confirm on the journal's manchesterhive page before you submit.
Peer review process
- Model: double-anonymized peer review is the norm across MUP journals, in line with humanities practice — reviewers do not see author names and vice versa.
- Turnaround: humanities review cycles are slower than STM; expect roughly 2-4 months to a first decision, varying by journal and reviewer availability.
- Ethics: MUP is a COPE member, and its journals follow COPE guidance on misconduct, corrections, and retractions.
How to submit
- Pick the journal. Match your paper's subject to the list above and read recent issues on manchesterhive to confirm fit.
- Read the author guidelines. Each journal page on manchesterhive links to title-specific submission instructions, word limits, and formatting requirements.
- Format your manuscript. MUP journals use humanities citation styles — typically Chicago or MHRA. SciSpace templates for MUP titles handle the formatting automatically.
- Submit via the journal's stated route. MUP journals are individually run; some use online submission systems while others take submissions by email to the editors — the journal page tells you which.
- Respond to review. Expect substantive, discipline-expert reports; revisions in the humanities often involve argument and framing as much as method.
Ethics and integrity
Manchester University Press is a member of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics). Its journals apply COPE guidance on authorship disputes, plagiarism, corrections, and retractions. As a university-owned, non-profit press operating since 1904, MUP carries no predatory-publishing concerns; its OA journals are listed in DOAJ, which vets titles for editorial standards.
