Call for Editor: The SAA Press
The application deadline has been extended to March 9, 2025.
The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) invites applications for the editorship of the SAA Press. The editor’s term is for 4 years and may be renewed for an additional 4 years with the approval of the Publications Committee and SAA Board. Editor-designate will begin with the 2025 SAA Annual Meeting for a one-year term. Editorship will go from the 2026 Annual Meeting until the 2029 Annual Meeting.
The editor, on behalf of the SAA, has overall responsibility for the quality and content of publication and for its editorial management. The editor of the SAA Press also appoints and oversees an editorial board.
In 2022, the SAA entered into a partnership agreement with the University Press of Colorado (UPC). This partnership enhances the Press’s visibility and impact and streamlines the production process for the editor.
The SAA Press currently publishes two series: Current Perspectives in Archaeology and Archaeology in Action. Both may include monographs, multiauthored works, and edited volumes.
The Current Perspectives series publishes nonfiction books that provide up-to-date summaries or overviews of the current state of archaeological knowledge or method in a region, a topic of broad continental or hemispheric interest (e.g., Peopling of the Americas), or a topic of theoretical or methodological interest (e.g., the use of modeling in archaeology). Books in the series should be of interest to archaeologists not expert in the topic area desiring a comprehensive but brief overview, as well as students and instructors of undergraduate or graduate courses.
The Archaeology in Action series seeks nonfiction books that address important practical issues in archaeological research and practice such as ethics, fieldwork practices or collections management, community-based archaeology, and collaboration with Native or descendant populations. Books in the series might study archaeology at the local or global level, across geographic lines, and through time. They will be of interest to professionals interested in contemporary concerns and best practices in archaeology, as well as students and instructors of undergraduate or graduate courses concerned with archaeological practice or history.
For the two series currently published, and any others series of the SAA Press, the editor is responsible for solicitation of suitable individual titles for publication; critically evaluating prospectuses and manuscripts for proposed works in a timely fashion and submitting acceptable ones to the UPC Editorial Board for review; advising UPC on the peer review process for proposals and manuscripts; advising authors on necessary revisions based on peer review and supervises these revisions; submitting revised manuscripts to UPC; overseeing the execution of contracts between authors and UPC; assisting authors in preparation of complete manuscripts according to the SAA Style Guide, UPC manuscript guidelines, and contractual deadlines; ensuring that authors of works return corrected proofs and indexes to UPC in a timely manner; and selecting the author and supplying the SAA-sponsored Foreword for published works.
The editor of the SAA Press is expected to be a member of the SAA in good standing and serves as an ex officio member of the SAA Publications Committee throughout the editorship. The SAA provides some support for attendance at the annual meeting.
Applications are made via a proposal that should include
(a) discussion of the applicant’s vision for the SAA Press and how it would be achieved;
(b) relevant qualifications and experience, including a current curriculum vitae;
(c) an assurance that the editor has sufficient time to carry out their duties;
(d) applicant’s plans to increase the representation of women, diverse minority and gender groups, and Indigenous and descendant community members among the authors, editorial board members, and reviewers. Please see statements from the SAA Publications Committee and editors that highlight this commitment.
Application materials should be sent as a single file to Matthew Pailes (mpailes@ou.edu). The application deadline has been extended to March 9, 2025.
