Publish with RUI Press
Bring an idea into the world.
RUI Press works with scholars, researchers, practitioners, leaders, educators, and experienced professionals developing ideas capable of contributing meaningfully to research, practice, or public understanding.
Our editorial invitation
We begin with the idea, not the publishing package.
We are interested in work that asks consequential questions, develops thoughtful arguments, connects disciplines, reports meaningful research, or helps important ideas travel into environments where they can shape understanding and action.
RUI Press is not limited to conventional academic authorship. Serious ideas can originate in universities, organizations, professions, communities, laboratories, and sustained practice. What matters is the quality of the contribution and the care with which it is developed.
Our intellectual orientation is informed by questions of human capability, but we do not require authors to adopt a single framework or perspective. Work that challenges, complicates, or deepens prevailing assumptions is welcome when it does so rigorously.
What we look for
The editorial question is not simply “Can this be published?”
We ask whether the work deserves development, whether RUI Press can strengthen it, and whether publication can help the idea make a meaningful contribution.
Consequential
Does the work address a question, problem, or possibility that genuinely matters?
Rigorous
Is the argument intellectually responsible, appropriately grounded, and clear about the basis for its claims?
Distinctive
Does the work make a contribution rather than simply restating what is already widely available?
Accessible
Can the intended audience engage the ideas without unnecessary disciplinary or technical barriers?
Transferable
Can the work influence inquiry, judgment, practice, leadership, design, or further research?
Aligned
Does the work connect meaningfully with one or more of RUI Press's areas of inquiry?
Areas of inquiry
We publish across disciplines around questions that matter.
Human Capability
Learning & Development
Leadership & Judgment
Organizations & Work
Technology & AI
Practice & Transfer
These areas are intentionally broad. We welcome interdisciplinary work and projects that sit between established categories when the underlying question is important and the contribution is clear.
What we publish
Different ideas require different forms.
Books & Monographs
Substantial works that develop an original argument, body of scholarship, or practice-grounded contribution in depth.
Research Reports
Empirical, institutional, or commissioned investigations that make findings accessible to relevant scholarly and professional communities.
RUI Papers
Focused research, theoretical work, or emerging ideas that merit serious intellectual circulation without requiring book-length treatment.
Perspectives
Accessible arguments and essays that challenge assumptions, synthesize important ideas, or open consequential questions for wider discussion.
Frameworks & Guides
Intellectually grounded resources that help translate research and theory into structured approaches for judgment, design, learning, leadership, or practice.
Collections
Curated works that bring multiple voices, disciplines, or perspectives into conversation around a significant question.
How it works
From proposal to publication.
01
Proposal
Tell us the central question, argument or contribution, intended audience, and why the work matters.
02
Editorial fit
We assess whether the idea aligns with RUI Press's intellectual territory and whether we are the right home for the project.
03
Review
Projects moving forward receive an appropriate editorial or peer-review process based on the nature of the work.
04
Development
Accepted projects move through revision, editorial development, production, design, proofing, and publication planning.
05
Publication
The completed work is prepared for the agreed print or digital formats and relevant distribution channels.
Review methods and timelines vary by project type. Book-length scholarly works may require external peer review; practitioner works, reports, perspectives, and other formats may follow a different editorial process appropriate to the contribution.
Author relationship
Transparent terms. Serious editorial work.
Authors retain copyright and grant RUI Press publication rights for the formats defined in the publication agreement. Accepted projects receive clear terms before production begins.
RUI Press is a registered publisher with Amazon, Ingram, and Bowker. Published titles can receive ISBNs and be made available through appropriate retail, library, institutional, print, and digital channels depending on the project.
Current book publishing terms
For projects using the current RUI Press author-supported book program, a one-time $600 setup fee covers ISBN assignment, registration, and title setup. Authors receive 80% of direct website sales, with RUI Press retaining a 20% administrative fee. Author copies are available at 15% over wholesale printing cost.
Terms can differ for commissioned works, research reports, institutional projects, collections, or future publishing programs. The applicable agreement governs each accepted project.
Read the current author agreementEditorial integrity
Standards matter.
Submissions must be original and transparent about prior publication, concurrent review, conflicts of interest, and the provenance of research or data. Human-subjects research should identify appropriate ethical or institutional approval where applicable.
Authors must disclose material use of generative AI in research, analysis, drafting, or production when it bears on the integrity or provenance of the submitted work. Plagiarism, fabricated evidence, deceptive attribution, or undisclosed duplicate submission ends consideration.
Start a conversation
Tell us about the idea before worrying about the finished manuscript.
A complete manuscript is welcome, but it is not required for an initial proposal. We would rather understand the question, contribution, audience, and direction of the work early enough for an editorial conversation to be useful.
Helpful proposal materials
- A concise description of the central question, argument, or contribution
- The intended audience and why the work matters to them
- An annotated table of contents, outline, or project structure when applicable
- One or two representative chapters, sections, or writing samples for substantial works
- Author name, biography, credentials or relevant experience, affiliation if applicable, email, and phone
- Comparable works or adjacent scholarship that help us understand the project's contribution
Proposal materials are stored privately and are visible only to you and the RUI Press editorial team. For an initial editorial question, contact press@ruinstitute.org.