Finally got the news I’ve been waiting for – my book The Birth of Territory has just received final approval and will be published by the University of Chicago Press in 2013, hopefully in the spring.

It’s been a long process – I submitted a proposal when I was in Seattle in October 2010. On the basis of reports and my response to them I was given an advance contract in early 2011. I submitted the full manuscript on 1 June 2011, but it took nine months before all three reader reports were in. Two of the reports were overwhelmingly enthusiastic; one had a problem with the book’s structure and overall purpose – essentially this referee wanted me to have written a very different book. I then had to respond to those reports; to some additional comments from the editorial board; and then it went to the academic board for approval today. I’ve just received the good news.

There is some work to do – I’ve done quite a bit of revision to the manuscript already, but some things remain to be done. But I hope to wrap this up in the next couple of months and then the production process can start. Chicago were my first and only choice for this book – their work on cartography, geography and political thought made it a clear choice. One of the issues we had to discuss was length – they’ve approved a manuscript of 200,000 words which means a book of c. 500 pages. It will be simultaneous hardback and affordable paperback. I’m absolutely delighted!