LECTURE
Markets and Technology, Survival and Change
Friday, April 5, 2013 • 12:00-1:30pm • Nevil Classroom, Penn Museum
Debates about the future of scholarly publishing are not new, and the research monograph in the humanities has long been a particular concern. Yet the sense of crisis has sharpened in recent years. Digital media continue to offer new opportunities but may also have introduced as many problems as they have solved. In this wide-ranging lecture, Josie Dixon reviews the state of the market and considers the business survival strategies that scholarly publishers have developed, as well as some fundamental questions surrounding copyright, access, and intellectual property. Other topics concern the new challenges digital technology has created, as well as some of the fundamental questions surrounding copyright, access, and intellectual property. Participants will better understand the market and conditions in which publishers operate, and how this affects the reception of publishing proposals. Please bring your own questions and concerns.
Lecture registration limited to Penn faculty, postdocs, and graduate students.
Brown bag. Beverages and dessert provided.
WORKSHOP
Publishing Your Research
Friday, April 5, 2013 • 2:00-5:30pm • Nevil Classroom, Penn Museum
The present climate is notoriously difficult for scholarly publishing in the humanities and social sciences, and making a first approach to academic presses with the fruits of your research can be a daunting proscpect. Designed to demystify the task, this workshop will shed light on the decision-making process, and will help faculty, postdocs, and ABD-level graduate students consider how best to present their work to publishers. Participants will learn to view their research as others will see it, beginning with commissioning editors and publishers’ referees all the way through the distribution chain to booksellers, librarians, review editors, and the prospective readership. Discussion and exercises ensure that the material remains practically based throughout. Handouts and recommended reading are supplied.
Workshop Topics:
• The publishing mentality
• Book or article?
• Who are you writing for? Who needs it?
• Why it matters - defining your contribution to scholarship
• Interdisciplinary work
• Essay collections
• Choosing the right publisher
• Making your approach
• Choosing a title
• Project descriptions and selling points
RSVP by email to Jennifer Conway no later than Monday, February 25. Your reply must include a 2-4 page description of your research project, to be sent to Josie Dixon in advance as part of her workshop planning. Workshop registration by invitation only. Limited to 12 PHF Mellon and Penn faculty, postdocs, and ABD graduate students.
As head of Lucian Consulting, Josie Dixon is an experienced training consultant who specializes in running workshops for scholars in the humanities and social sciences, with a particular focus on how to publish research, write and present conference papers, and improve research communication skills. She has over 70 university clients in the UK, USA and continental Europe. She also has clients in the publishing industry, where she gives training workshops on commissioning, management, and strategy. She was previously publishing director for the Academic Division at Palgrave Macmillan and before that spent eleven years in commissioning and managerial roles at Cambridge University Press.
