Scholarly Communication

I talked to Dr. Samuel Moore about his recent book, Publishing Beyond the Market: Open Access, Care, and the Commons, (U Michigan Press, 2025) Samuel Moore is the Scholarly Communication Specialist at Cambridge University Libraries, Associate Lecturer at Cambridge Digital Humanities, and College Research Associate at King's College, Cambridge. In his book, Sam argues that the move to open access s...

In Object-Based Learning: Exploring Museums and Collections in Education (UCL Press, 2025), Thomas Kador provides a concise overview of some of the most important approaches to material culture and object analysis in plain and easily understandable language that is equally accessible to undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as lecturers. Click here for an open access version of this book...

Every year, NBN speaks with the president of AUPresses in anticipation of University Press Week. This year, press week will take place from November 10 through the 14th, with the theme: #TeamUP. To celebrate, I’m thrilled to have Dennis Lloyd, director of the University of Wisconsin Press, and president of the Association of University Presses, on the podcast. Learn more about UP Week here. Learn...

What does it take to construct humanity's cultural history and what do these efforts produce in the world? In The Politics of World Heritage (Oxford UP, 2025), Elif Kalaycioglu analyzes UNESCO's flagship regime, which seeks to curate a cultural history of humanity, attached to "outstanding universal value" and tethered to goals of peace and solidarity. Kalaycioglu's analysis tracks that constructi...

In today’s polarized landscape, libraries face two key challenges: the difficulty of turning raw data into narratives that effectively advocate for libraries, and the ethical complexities of representing communities in these stories. In Critical Data Storytelling for Libraries: Crafting Ethical Narratives for Advocacy and Impact (ALA, 2025), Kate McDowell empowers librarians and information profes...

Archival Research in Historical Organisation Studies: Theorising Silences offers an accessible account of theorising the archive, contesting the narrow definitions of the archive with a view beyond a mere repository of documents. Scholars Gabrielle Durepos and Amy Thurlow discuss the ways that business archives have marginalized various populations and themes by providing two frameworks for examin...

Researchers and archivists have spent decades digitizing and cataloguing, but what does the future hold for book history? Network Analysis for Book Historians: Digital Labour and Data Visualization Techniques (ARC Humanities Press, 2025) explores the potential of network analysis as a method for medieval and early modern book history. Through case studies of the Cotton Library, the Digital Index o...

In this book, Paul A. Thomas—a seasoned Wikipedia contributor who has accrued about 60,000 edits since he started editing in 2007—breaks down the history of the free encyclopedia and explains the process of becoming an editor. Now a newly minted Ph. D. and a library specialist at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, he outlines the many roles a Wikipedia editor can fill. Some editors fix typograp...

Today I’m thrilled to launch a brand new series for the Princeton UP Ideas Podcast. 20 years ago, Princeton University Press published a short volume with an excellent title: On Bullshit (Princeton UP, 2025). Written by philosopher Harry Frankfurt, On Bullshit was adapted from an essay that explored the meaning, uses, and consequences of bullshit. At just 80 pages, On Bullshit became a favorite of...

Hosts Nina Dos Santos and Owen Bennett Jones explore the mounting political and financial pressures confronting higher education on both sides of the Atlantic. In the U.S., it unpacks the unprecedented clash between the Trump administration and Harvard, raising broader questions about academic freedom, ideological conformity, and the role of government oversight. In the U.K., the conversation turn...

The library is an important partner in academic success for students and professors. So why do so many people overlook this key resource? Karen McCoy takes us inside her job on two college campuses, unpacking what librarians do, and why she’s so happy to help everyone find exactly what they need. Our guest is: Karen B. McCoy, who is a librarian currently living in Northern California. Most days, s...

Back in 2021, John and Elizabeth sat down with Brandeis string theorist Albion Lawrence to discuss cooperation versus solitary study across disciplines. They sink their teeth into the question, “Why do scientists seem to do collaboration and teamwork better than other kinds of scholars and academics?” The conversation ranges from the merits of collective biography to the influence of place and geo...

What makes one sentence easy to read and another a slog that demands re-reading? Where do you put information you want readers to recall? Drawing on cognitive neuroscience, psychology and psycholinguistics, Writing for the Reader’s Brain (Cambridge University Press, 2025) provides a practical, how-to guide on how to write for your reader. It introduces the five 'Cs' of writing - clarity, continuit...

How do academic books get published? How do scholars turn dissertations and articles into the books we love? How does academic publishing compare to the world of trade publishing? This week, we speak with Robert Dreesen, a seasoned publishing professional with over 30 years of experience in the industry. Dreesen has worked in trade publishing at Penguin and Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, and for nearl...

Our book is: Project Management for Researchers: A Practical, Stress-Free Guide to Getting Organized (U Michigan Press, 2025), by Dr. Shiri Noy, which tackles the how, what, and why of project management. It offers step-by-step guidance on choosing tools and developing a personalized system that will help the reader manage and organize their research so that steps and decisions are documented for...

In this episode of Publish My Book, we break down the key components of a strong book proposal. We discuss essential elements like a well-structured table of contents, a compelling cover letter, a carefully chosen sample chapter, and a narrative author bio that connects emotionally with acquisitions editors. We also explore the importance of a persuasive prospectus that highlights your book's nove...

In this episode of Publish My Book, we explore the peer review process for book manuscripts. We discuss how securing an acquisitions editor’s support is the first critical step before entering peer review, where feedback can vary in depth and rigor. We share tips on suggesting reviewers, managing the often lengthy review timeline, and effectively addressing critiques—whether agreeing, disagreeing,...

In this episode of Publish My Book, we dive into how to approach acquisitions editors with confidence and clarity. We discuss their role in the publishing process, what they're looking for in a manuscript, and how to make a strong first impression—whether at conferences or via email. We share practical tips on tailoring your pitch, respecting their time, and navigating feedback. Acquisitions edito...

In this episode of Publish My Book, we explore how to transform a dissertation into a compelling book. We begin by examining the key differences between the two: while a dissertation demonstrates our research abilities to advisors, a book communicates core ideas to a broader audience. We discuss how to distill our arguments, streamline dense sections, and rewrite for clarity and engagement. We als...

In this episode of Publish My Book, we explore the essential role of a well-crafted book index in academic publishing. A good index helps readers easily locate specific topics, names, or places, making your book more accessible and impactful. Avi discusses different types of indexes—such as subject, author, and sources indexes—and provides guidance on creating one. We emphasize starting the proces...

In this episode of Publish My Book, we explore open-access publishing, a model designed to make publicly funded research freely available to everyone. Unlike traditional publishing, where readers or libraries pay for access, open access requires authors or their institutions to cover upfront fees—often $4,000 to $6,000—to make their books freely accessible. We discuss the benefits of open access,...

Listen to this interview of Sakina Fatima, Research Fellow, University of Ottawa, Canada; and also, Taher Ghaleb, Assistant Professor, Trent University, Canada. We talk about the coauthored paper Flakify: A Black-Box, Language Model-based Predictor for Flaky Tests (TSE 2023). Taher Ghaleb : "With our RQs, it's not just a matter of there being a problem with flaky tests. I mean, every researcher in...

Listen to this interview of Abubakar Mohammed, Manager, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Nigeria. We talk about the coauthored paper Cybersecurity Challenges in the Offshore Oil and Gas Industry: An Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems (ICPS) Perspective (TCPS 2022). Abubakar Mohammed : "I would put the success of the paper down to us just generally understanding the audience we wan...

Listen to this interview of Arjun Guha, Associate Professor, Northeastern University. We talk about his coauthored paper MultiPL-E: A Scalable and Polyglot Approach to Benchmarking Neural Code Generation (TSE 2023). Arjun Guha : "My group and our collaborating colleagues really try to pick problems carefully so that we choose a problem that we can attack with the expertise that we have. So, for ex...

Listen to this interview of Ricardo Amaro, Senior Engineering Manager, Acquia, USA, and also a PhD Researcher, ISCTE—University Institute of Lisbon, Portugal. We talk about his coauthored paper Capabilities and Practices in DevOps: A Multivocal Literature Review (TSE 2023). Ricardo Amaro : "One of the main challenges we've been experiencing in DevOps is, let's say, the cultural resistance to chang...