PUBLISH WITH US

Why publish your book with Practical Action Publishing 

Our books range from analytical texts, practical books, hands on manuals and reference works.

You can view an index of our current editors, authors and contributors here

We particularly welcome proposals of books to publish with us in the subject areas of: development studies; energy access; gender; humanitarian assistance; enterprise development and microfinance; urban services; water supply, sanitation and hygiene, all in the context of international development.

Authors should consider publishing with us because:

• Your proposal and typescript will be considered by an experienced editorial team and our expert subject reviewers

• We co-publish with major international aid agencies such as Oxfam GB; FAO; the Emergency Capacity Building Project; The SEEP Network; and IRC, Netherlands. We also co-publish with leading research organizations such as IDS, University of Sussex; Overseas Development Institute, London

• Our book catalogue, website and sales agents will bring your book before international development practitioners, researchers and students

• As part of our digital strategy books will be converted to ebooks for reading on commercial e-readers and be available on our online knowledge resource platform

• Our production team can source designers and printers from around the world to produce your book efficiently and attractively

Submit articles for our international peer reviewed journals

Enterprise Development & Microfinance offers practice-based insights into the role of markets, enterprises and financial services in reducing poverty and stimulating economic development. Contributions to EDM may include: Research article: original development-relevant research, peer-reviewed, up to 6000 words; Perspectives from the field: ideas and experiences on entrepreneurship in developing countries, peer-reviewed, up to 4000 words; Editorial: reflections on the state of market-oriented research and development practice; Crossfire: debate between experts on the unknowns, dilemmas, and tensions in microfinance and enterprise development; Book review: critical thoughts on relevant books and manuscripts

Submit to Enterprise Development & Microfinance

Food Chain offers field-based insights into the production and marketing of food in developing countries and its implications for alleviating poverty and hunger. The coverage includes but is not restricted to: Agri-food systems; Rural livelihoods; Food security; Post-harvest management; Agro-ecology; Certification; Seed systems; Food processing; Consumer preferences. Contributions to Food Chain may include: Research article: original development-relevant research, peer reviewed, up to 8000 words; Perspectives from the field: ideas and experiences on entrepreneurship in developing countries, peer-reviewed, up to 4000 words; Editorial: reflections on the state of market-oriented research and development practice.

Submit to Food Chain

Waterlines welcomes two forms of submission, each of which has specific requirements of authors and different guidelines for referees.

> Research papers are up to 6000 words in length, and report on studies which usually include some primary data collection. These papers must always include a critical review of literature, a complete description and justification of the methodology used, and succinct presentation and analysis of data. Conclusions and recommendations should specifically include the implications for practice. In those cases where human subjects are involved, the methodology must include clear statements about the ethical approvals and consents obtained. Exceptionally a research paper may consist of a literature review with no primary data collection, but if so the review must be undertaken in a systematic and clearly described manner.

> Practice papers are up to 3000 words in length. They are used to describe innovations, trials, pilots and field experiences, or to present more general experience and learning in essay form. They are expected to refer to the literature as appropriate, although generally not as extensively as in a research paper. In the case of field work the methods adopted should be described in a way which makes it possible for others to repeat what was done. The implications for wider practice, for scaling-up, or for changes to policy should be drawn out. Recommendations may include, among other things, guidance for further research.

Waterlines is a refereed journal that bridges the gap between research and practice. Our approach to journal indexing reflects this position. In recent years, we have sought to expand the availability on key journal databases, such as Scopus and Google Scholar, and through this process we have been allocated a variety of Impact Factor indexing scores. However, we have not been listed on the Clarivate Analytics Web of Science Indexing System, which is the most widely recognised system for producing Impact Factor scores within academic settings. This is because we felt this system provided limited benefit to practitioners and we wished to remain optimal Editorial flexible to meet the needs of both our practitioner and researcher audiences. This position is now under review and we are actively assessing the benefits of a submission to gain a Web of Science Impact Factor.

The editors welcome authors sending in 100-250 word outlines of their proposed article for discussion and guidance prior to writing the full article.

Submit to Waterlines

USEFUL DOWNLOADS FOR AUTHORS

Book proposal form

House style guide

Instructions for book submission

Instructions for journal article submission

Journal article copyright form

Read about our Open Access programme