The Institute of Mathematical Statistics collaborates with Cambridge University Press to publish two book series: the IMS Monographs and the IMS Textbooks. Books in the IMS series have the advantage that, in addition to being CUP books and receiving the full editorial, sales and marketing attention of a global non-profit publisher, they also carry the IMS imprimatur and receive focused promotion by the IMS to its members, journal subscribers, and conference attendees.
What kinds of books are appropriate for the CUP-IMS book series?
IMS Monographs advance knowledge in a manner that’s complementary to the journals literature. These books give an entry point to an emerging area of science; or consolidate a diffuse area of
research, as a base and point of reference for further work; or allow an author to develop the outlook or philosophy that underlies an important body of work. They are not encyclopedic or overly technical treatments and aim for concision.
IMS Textbooks are introductory accounts of topical areas suitable for advanced courses at master’s level, for doctoral students, and for individual study. Typically about 200 pages long, they have exercises and where appropriate accompanying computer code.
Both series publish in statistics, probability, and algorithms – the whole range of theory and applications – and also relevant areas of applied mathematics and computer science.
How are book proposals submitted?
A book proposal may be submitted to any member of the Editorial Board, joint for the two books series, or alternatively via Natalie Tomlinson of Cambridge University Press, who is also happy to give advice.
Editorial Board members are here.
A proposal consists of a prospectus document and, ideally, draft or indicative material (such as sample chapters, or lecture notes, or perhaps a survey paper on the same subject as the book) that shows the style in which the book will be written.
In the prospectus we ask for:
Working book title
Proposed book series
Rationale and scope
Readership/audience
Competing/related books
Detailed table of contents, with abstracts or section headings for each chapter
Description of any ancillary material such as computer code, data sets, solutions to exercises
Proposed length of the book and its proposed completion date
Include as much information as you yourself would require to offer a meaningful evaluation. There is no prescribed length.
How are proposals handled?
Your proposal will be screened by the Editorial Board and if appropriate it will undergo external peer review under the direction of the relevant member of the Editorial Board.
The review process can result in a range of opinion, falling somewhere between the extremes of ‘unconditional acceptance’, on one hand, and ‘unpublishable under any circumstances’, on the other. We aim to make the process constructive, so there are often suggestions that the reviewers think will improve the book. These are passed to you, and we expect you to react to constructive comments, but we are always aware that itʹs your book, and we will not ask you to write to a prescription or to write someone elseʹs book.
After reviewing, the Editorial Board makes a recommendation to Cambridge University Press, which makes the final publication decision. If the decision is favorable, the Cambridge University Press editor will discuss contract terms with you and, once agreed, will issue a contract.
The process will vary in length depending on the nature of the project, the quantity of proposal material, the number of reviews considered necessary to reach a publishing decision, and even the time of year of submission. We will be able to give you an approximate timetable for this process after screening by the Editorial Board.