The University of North Carolina Press (UNC Press)

Peer review procedure

Peer review is a hallmark of university press publishing. UNC Press follows industry best practice as outlined in the Association of University Presses’ Best Practices for Peer Review.

Our editorial team will first complete an in-office review, meant to determine the work’s general suitability for our list and readiness for peer review. This process can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months. Peer review reports are made on a confidential basis, and copies are sent to the author. It is common that the outside readers and/or the acquiring editor will ask for substantial revision that could entail changes to the content and structure of a manuscript. We expect every manuscript will improve through revision and editing as a part of the review process.

The Board of Governors of UNC Press, which authorizes all publications, requires that every manuscript recommended to it by the Press have the written support of at least two outside peer reviewers.

Because UNC Press publishes general interest books as well as scholarly works, we adapt our peer review processes regularly to suit the needs of every manuscript; a manuscript by a journalist or other writer outside the academy will have different kinds of “peers” than a work produced for readers in a scholarly community.