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Academic Publishing
Editorial assessment, acquisitions, and manuscript development for AQIRI’s scholarly publishing programme.
Editorial and Acquisitions
The Editorial and Acquisitions Department is responsible for the early development of AQIRI’s scholarly publishing programme. It receives and assesses manuscripts and proposals, identifies suitable publishing projects, and works with authors and academic contributors before a work enters formal production.
The Department handles a range of scholarly material, including books, monographs, edited volumes, translations, journal-related projects, and other research-based publications. Its role is not limited to receiving submissions; it also considers the academic purpose, scope, originality, audience, and overall suitability of proposed works within AQIRI’s publishing programme.
Where a project is considered suitable for further development, the Department coordinates the necessary editorial and academic processes and works with authors to bring the manuscript to an appropriate stage for review, approval, and production.
Department Responsibilities
The Department receives book proposals, complete manuscripts, edited collections, translations, and other scholarly projects submitted for publication consideration.
Each project is considered in relation to its subject, academic contribution, intended readership, stage of development, and relevance to AQIRI’s areas of publishing.
Submissions undergo an initial editorial assessment before they proceed further in the publishing process.
This stage considers the academic scope of the work, clarity of argument or purpose, organisation, documentation, language, and general readiness for scholarly evaluation. Where necessary, authors may be asked to provide additional material or revise aspects of the proposal or manuscript.
The Department also develops AQIRI’s publishing list through commissioned and independently proposed projects.
Acquisitions work may include identifying subjects requiring further scholarly attention, approaching prospective authors or editors, considering new book and monograph proposals, and developing publication projects in consultation with relevant scholars.
Some works require further development before formal review or production. In such cases, the Department may work with authors on matters such as structure, scope, documentation, chapter organisation, scholarly apparatus, or the overall presentation of the manuscript.
Editorial development is intended to strengthen the work while preserving the author’s academic responsibility and intellectual independence.
The Department coordinates with editors, reviewers, subject specialists, and other academic contributors where specialist assessment is required.
Depending on the nature of the publication, this may involve external review, subject consultation, editorial advice, language assessment, or other forms of scholarly evaluation before a publication decision is made.
The Department considers scholarly work in Islamic Studies and related areas of the humanities and social sciences, including projects concerned with Islamic texts, intellectual traditions, history, law, society, ethics, religion, culture, and contemporary Muslim thought.
Particular attention is given to work that demonstrates a clear scholarly contribution, responsible use of sources, sound academic method, and relevance to the Institute’s publishing programme.
Working with Authors
AQIRI seeks to maintain clear and professional communication with authors throughout the editorial process.
Authors are informed of significant editorial requirements, requests for revision, review outcomes, and the next stage of consideration where applicable. Publication decisions are made on academic and editorial grounds and remain subject to the Institute’s publishing policies and review requirements.
Department Leadership
The Editorial and Acquisitions Department is led by the Director, Editorial and Acquisitions, supported by editorial and acquisitions personnel and, where required, external academic specialists.
Detailed staff information may be presented separately through AQIRI’s institutional directory.
Editorial Enquiries
Authors and scholars may contact the Department regarding book proposals, manuscript submissions, edited volumes, translations, and other publication projects.