A small door swinging open
There is a particular thrill in spotting an open call. It feels like finding a light on in a building you have walked past for years, wondering what is going on inside. If you have a book idea hovering at the edge of your notes app, this is your nudge: Free Association Publishing submissions are currently open.
Maybe you are an academic with a half formed argument and a folder full of readings. Maybe you are a clinician with a case based question you cannot quite shake. Or maybe you are simply someone who reads widely and keeps noticing the same gap on the bookshelf. Whatever your route in, an open window like this can turn a private obsession into a public conversation.
The kind of thinking that starts conversations
Free Association Publishing (Free Association Books) has a long reputation for taking ideas seriously, especially the ones that sit between disciplines and refuse to behave. It is the sort of independent academic publisher that has never minded a bit of edge, provided the writing is thoughtful and alive.
What does that mean in practice? It means books that speak to psychotherapy and psychoanalysis but also to social work, health studies, history, public policy, and all the messy overlaps in between. It means a place where theory can meet real life, without either one turning into jargon for its own sake.
Right now there is a clear appetite for work on climate psychology publishing and for books that take eco anxiety seriously as a lived experience, not a trend. There is also real curiosity about digital technologies in psychotherapy, including the everyday ways screens shape intimacy, attention, and shame. And yes, the big one. AI in psychoanalytic practice, with all its awkward questions about presence, confidentiality, and what counts as a human encounter.
If you are new to this game
A submission does not have to arrive with a trumpet fanfare. To be honest, some of the best proposals start with a simple problem and a clear voice. What are you trying to say? Who is it for, and why now? Those three questions carry a lot of weight.
If you are emerging, do not assume the door is only for people with a long list of citations. Editors often enjoy the spark of a first book, especially when it brings fresh material from practice, research, or an unexpected archive. If you are established, this is a chance to take a risk, to write the book you have been circling for years.
And remember, a proposal is a conversation starter. It is not a verdict on your worth.
A gentle nudge before you press send
If any of this has you leaning closer to your desk, take half an hour this week to shape your idea into a tidy outline and a short pitch. Then follow the submission details and send your proposal in.
