PUBLISHING YOUR RESEARCH

Josie Dixon was Publishing Director for the Academic Division at Palgrave Macmillan until 2003, and before that worked for 11 years in commissioning and managerial roles at Cambridge University Press.  She now works as a publishing consultant with a special interest in training, and has given workshops and lectures on the publishing industry internationally. 

The present climate is notoriously difficult for scholarly publishing, and making a first approach to academic presses with the fruits of your doctoral research can be a daunting and uncertain business.  This half-day workshop is designed to demystify the task, shedding light on the decision-making process and helping postgraduates considering publication to present their work to publishers in the best way.  It encourages participants to view their research as others will see it, along the line that stretches from commissioning editors and publishers’ referees all the way down the supply chain to booksellers, librarians, review editors, and the prospective readership.  This involves thinking about the market, choosing and approaching a publisher, and working out how to represent your work to best advantage.  In addition the workshop deals with how to negotiate the particular problems surrounding interdisciplinary work and essay collections.  Discussion and exercises ensure that the material remains practically based throughout.  Handouts and recommended reading are supplied. 

The workshop will be preceded by a morning lecture (11:00-12:30, H203) on the current state of the academic publishing industry, designed to give an understanding of the market and conditions in which publishers operate, and how this affects the reception of publishing proposals.