Information for authors

Karolinum Press specializes in scholarly publications, journals and textbooks, primarily in cooperation with individual faculties of Charles University and their authors.

Manuscript submissions

Authors from Charles University

Editorial committees of the faculties prepare their editorial plans for Karolinum Press. On the basis of these plans, the publishing house conducts negotiations for individual manuscripts according to the Editorial Code of Charles University. The editorial plans are divided into three sections according to the type of publication: textbooks, scientific journals, and scientific monographs.

Editorial plan – the form used by faculty editorial committees

Authors from outside of Charles University

As an open publishing house, we also accept manuscripts that are not included in the faculties' editorial plans. If you are interested in publishing with us, please contact the publishing house's main office.

Review procedures

Each academic monograph manuscript is reviewed by two independent experts, at least one of which must be from a different workplace than the author of the text under review. The peer review process for our book publications is through transparent peer review – the reviewer knows the identity of the author and the author knows the identity of the reviewer. The peer review process is governed by the Editorial Code of Charles University. In specific cases, such as highly complex topics, insufficient or questionable value of peer reviews, contradictory conclusions, the publisher may request further independent reviews. In the case of textbooks, one of the reviews is devoted to the didactic aspects of the publication.

Reviewers will also submit the personal form required for payment of their fees at the same time the review is submitted.
Reviewer form

Delivery of the manuscript and supporting documents for preparation of the contract

The author or Editorial Committee member (according to the specific faculty's accepted practices) submits the following documents to the publishing house:

(1) order form for the specific type of publication with the signature of the dean and the head of the editorial department of the faculty (applies only to titles from editorial plans)

(2) personal information form (or authorizations in the case of multiple authors)

(3) manuscript in electronic version (see Formal preparation of manuscripts), including images, if they are intended to be included in the resulting publication (all reproduced images must be accompanied by written permission from the copyright holder for their use in the Karolinum Press publication)

(4) a brief annotation (5–7 lines) in the language of the work, which will serve as a basis for the publishing summary appearing on the book's cover, on the Karolinum Press website, and usually used by distribution partners

(5) reviews and the reviewers' personal information forms (required to be able to enter into a contract with and pay the reviewer) unless it has been agreed that the reviewers will be contacted by the publisher

(6) the author's response to the reviews

(7) marketing questionnaire.

Order form - textbook

Order form - monographs and proceedings

Order form - scientific journal

Personal data of author or reviewer

Authorization for the primary author to conclude a license agreement (in case there are more co-authors) - Czech version, English version, Authorization for electronic publications

Declaration on incorporating reviewers' comments in the manuscript

Marketing questionnaire

Formal preparation of manuscripts


From manuscript to book

After the review process and approval of the manuscript for publication by the vice-rector/editor, the publishing house will conclude a license agreement with the author for the publication of the work. Each manuscript is assigned an editor who guides the author through the entire process up to the publication of the book. All monograph titles are subject to an editorial process corresponding to the nature and focus of the forthcoming publication. The primary basis for the editing is linguistic, but attention is also paid to the scientific apparatus and bibliography, illustrations, the structure of the work, factual accuracy, etc. The editor responsible either handles the editorial processing of the text himself, or in cooperation with one of our external collaborators.

The editor consults the author (or the publication's editor in the case of collective monographs and anthologies) with the required changes either continuously or after reading the whole manuscript according to the current circumstances. The result is the definitive authorized text, which is sent to typesetting. The format and graphic design of the book are determined by the publishing house. After the book has been typeset, the author will proofread the book within the agreed upon time frame. It is intended only to check the conversion of the text and for minor corrections, and in no case is to be used for making additional changes to the manuscript. Larger changes are possible only in cases of necessity and after prior consultation with the editor.

Proofreading may be done in two ways – on paper or directly in the pdf document.

Proofreading on paper should be done using common proofreading marks, for example: Proofreading marks. Proofreading must be legible and made in a color significantly different from that of the printed text (e.g., red and green are suitable colors). Do not use pencil. Corrections longer than three words must be made electronically as well (copied into an MS Word document along with a link to the appropriate page in the proofreading).

Proofreading in pdf can be done using the proofreading tools in Adobe Reader, and you may download the instructions for their use here: Proofreading instructions in pdf.

Concurrently with the author, the editor goes through the proofreading, and after making the necessary consultations sends the resulting text to the studio. The implementation of the proofreading is usually checked by the editor (in case of more complicated proofreading, also by the author), and the author receives the final typeset version for approval for production (imprimatur). In more complicated cases, it is possible to agree on additional press proofs. The book's index is usually prepared by the author in consultation with the editor.

The book cover is prepared in parallel to the proofreading. The definitive final version is decided by an editorial meeting at the publishing house, the form of which is decided in cooperation and agreement with the author. After the book block and the cover have been approved, the editor sends the book to production. He then informs the author of the publication and provides the author with copies. Along with the printed book, an electronic version is also created.

After publishing

The life of a book does not end when it is published, but rather begins (and in most cases so does the author's contact with the publishing house).

Promotions

The publisher's new releases can be found on our website, in the current catalog, on Facebook, and on two twitter accounts, one of which provides specialized information about our journals. We actively address a range of professional and popular periodicals.

We regularly participate in the most important domestic and foreign trade fairs (Prague, Havlíčkův Brod, Tábor, Ostrava, London, Lipsko, Frankfurt) and dozens of other events.
In cooperation with the authors, we take care of presenting selected titles to the professional community and the broader public.

We also present our publications to members of the academic community of Charles University in cooperation with the university's Department of External Relations UNIMEDIA, which is in charge of editing the university website and the online and printed (bilingual) versions of the magazine Forum.

We currently use online marketing tools with a target audience of 5,000 readers, which includes customers of our e-shop, libraries, specialized workplaces, and professional communities.

Foreign marketing

In cooperation with the University of Chicago Press, we provide global marketing services and international distribution for select titles in English. Currently this amounts to more than 150 publications in the fields of the humanities, natural sciences, and translated fiction.

Distribution of e-books to libraries

We provide worldwide distribution of electronic books to scientific libraries in cooperation with the ProQuest and EBSCO research database providers.

Thanks to our partnership with UCP, we also provide distribution of our English titles to libraries in cooperation with Gardners and with the CNPeReading platform, which is part of CNPIEC (China National Publications Import and Export Group Corporation).
In cooperation with ProQuest and EBSCO, we are also able to make all of our e-books available to all CU students and staff free of charge.

Distribution of e-books to end customers

E-books are available for the end customers of Karolinum Press, Kosmas.cz, Martinus.cz, Martinus.sk, Palmknihy.cz, Bookport.cz and Google Play e-shops. English-language monographs are also available via Amazon and Apple Books.