Program Committee
Brian Halley, Massachusetts, Chair
Claire Lewis Evans, Alabama
Jane Hoehner, Wayne State
Rachael Levay, Washington
Jessica Pellien, Princeton
Nathan Putens, Nebraska
Janet Rossi, MIT
Special 2013 Events
AUPresses selection of Boston as the host city for 2013 allowed us to join founding member Harvard University in the celebration of the Press’s centennial.
It was also fortunate that THATCamp Publishing—an attendee-developed, collaborative un-conference at Simmons College for publishers, librarians, faculty and student scholars, archivists, museum professionals, interested amateurs, technologists, administrators, and funders—was held in tandem, and that AAUP attendees were invited to register for the event gratis.
AAUP 2013 also saw the retirement of Executive Director Peter Givler. Givler served as Executive Director for 15 years, from 1997 to 2013. Givler keynoted the 2013 AAUP Annual Meeting, delivering a farewell address to the Association. He was introduced by Alex Holzman, Director, Temple University Press. Read Givler’s talk >
Program: “Bridging Worlds”
Thursday, June 20
Pre-Meeting Workshops & Special Meetings
Thinking Outside the Book
As subsidies are being cut, presses are looking outside traditional revenue streams and coming up with creative new ways to monetize their skills beyond book production. This workshop will address some of these new revenue streams: intensive publishing workshops for faculty, publication services, and the like. It will also explore some of the innovative efforts being done in service to our parent institutions to justify and augment their levels of support.
Organizers: Jonathan Haupt, Director, University of South Carolina Press;
Larin McLaughlin, Senior Acquisitions Editor, University of Illinois Press;
Alisa Plant, Senior Acquisitions Editor, LSU Press
Digital Marketing for Beginners: 2013 and Beyond
This half-day workshop is designed for those who are new to scholarly publishing and/or marketing. Topics covered will include social media, publicity, marketing digital products, interactive marketing tools, and the relationship between online and print marketing.
Organizers: Amanda Atkins, Senior Publicist, MIT Press; Mandy Clarke, Trade Marketing and Publicity Manager, Indiana University Press [Presentation]
Acquisitions for Beginners: What You Need to Know
This half-day workshop is geared to new acquisitions editors and advanced assistant editors. Topics include list-building basics, developing an editorial voice and philosophy, generating in-house enthusiasm for manuscripts, acquiring trade books, and managing author expectations. There will be a question-and-answer period after each panel.
Organizers: Amy Gorelick, Senior Acquisitions Editor, University Press of Florida; Alisa Plant, Senior Acquisitions Editor, Louisiana State University Press; Larin McLaughlin, Senior Acquisitions Editor, University of Illinois Press (on-site facilitator)
From InDesign to Ebook: Essential Workflow Steps
Join InDesign publishing expert Anne-Marie “Her Geekness” Concepcion for a lively and informative real-world tour of the ebook publishing landscape. You’ll receive an overview of the entire publishing workflow, taking a layout file in Adobe InDesign and turning it into an ebook ready for sale in Apple’s iBookstore, Amazon’s Kindle store, on other e-resellers. Along the way you’ll learn about best practices, free automation tools, gotchas to avoid, and tips from the ebook production trenches.
Organizers: Marianne Jankowski, Art Director, Northwestern University Press; Terri O’Prey, Associate Managing Editor, Princeton University Press
1:30 – 3:30 p.m. AAUP Press Directors Meeting
3:45 – 5:00 p.m. AAUP Business Meeting
5:00 – 6:00 p.m. Newcomers Reception
Sponsored by Thomson Reuters Core Publishing Solutions
6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Opening Reception
Sponsored by Thomson-Shore, Inc.
7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Opening Banquet with Valedictory Director Address
Featured Speaker: Outgoing AAUP Executive Director Peter Givler
9:00 – 10:30 p.m. Dessert Reception
Sponsored by The Chronicle of Higher Education
Location: Boston Children’s Museum
Friday, June 21
7:30 – 8:45 a.m. Continental Breakfast
9:00 – 10:15 a.m. Plenary 1
Three Big Ideas in Publishing
This opening plenary should stimulate our thinking in broad terms by introducing concepts in the realms of copyright, public intellectuals, and innovative business thinking, respectively, beyond the nuts-and-bolts we will be discussing in the days ahead.
Host: Lisa Bayer, Director, University of Georgia Press
Speakers: Jacqueline C. Charlesworth, Senior Counsel to the US Register of Copyrights; Jill Lepore, David Woods Kemper ’41 Professor of American History at Harvard College, Chair of Harvard’s History and Literature Program, and Staff Writer at The New Yorker;Michael Schrage, Research Fellow at MIT Sloan School’s Center for Digital Business and Imperial College (London) Business School, Author of Serious Play: How the World’s Best Companies Simulate to Innovate and Who Do You Want Your Customers to Become?
[Watch session]
10:15 – 10:45 a.m. Coffee Break
10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Concurrent Sessions
Backlist Ebooks and the Library Market
We’re all familiar with the challenges of producing backlist ebooks, which can range from contractual and permissions bottlenecks to formatting dilemmas. But what are the considerations farther downstream, for the libraries that constitute a fair slice of the potential market for backlist ebooks from university presses? How do libraries think about backlist ebooks? Would they buy more with less DRM? Are some subject areas more in demand than others? This panel will look at the current and potential library market for backlist ebooks through the perspective of a university librarian; of a vendor with entrée into the library, publisher, and content aggregator worlds; and of a representative from a university press with a strong record for creative reissues of backlist material in digital form.
Chair: David E. Des Jardines, Marketing and Sales Director, University of Georgia Press
Panelists: Marjorie Fowler, Digital Assets Coordinator, University of North Carolina Press; Jason S. Price, Interim Library Director, Claremont Colleges Library and E-Resource Analyst, Statewide California Electronic Library Consortium [Presentation]; Michael Zeoli, Vice President, eContent Strategy and Partner Relations, YBP Library Services
The Art of the Pitch
This panel will discuss the most effective ways to pitch a book, including a range of examples from sales managers pitching to sales reps, publicists to media, and sales reps to buyers. Suggestions will come from both large presses and small and mid-size presses. Each pitch will be given appropriate context and we will open this up for a larger discussion at the close.
Chair: Emily Grandstaff, Marketing & Publicity Manager, University of Virginia Press
Panelists: Heather D’Auria, Director of Marketing and Promotion, Yale University Press; Susan Donnelly, Sales and Marketing Director, Harvard University Press; Colleen Lanick, Publicity Manager, MIT Press; Michael McCullough, Sales Manager, Duke University Press
[Watch session]
Managing Your Editorial Board
One of the shared realities for all university presses is the faculty committee or advisory board that oversees presses’ scholarly publications. The exact role of the committee varies from press to press. In this panel, the participants will discuss a range of committee issues, such as how one might convince a conventional editorial board to sign off on a fishing guide or a cookbook, or justifying peer reviewers who are chefs, journalists, or gardeners rather than Ph.Ds. Panelists will also discuss rebuilding or repairing the committee–press relationship with an emphasis on maintaining strong relationships and ensuring that committees know they are a vital asset.
Chair: W. Clark Whitehorn, Editor-in-Chief, University of New Mexico Press
Panelists: Shannon Davies, Louise Lindsey Merrick Editor for the Natural Environment, Texas A&M University Press; Derek Krissoff, Editor-in-Chief, University of Nebraska Press; Charles Myers, Associate Director and Senior Editor, University Press of Kansas
Open Access Textbooks and MOOCs
In the last year, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have captivated the public’s attention and enrolled millions of students. What texts are professors using for such courses? Must they be open access, or even digital? What presses have benefited from getting on a reading list, whether mandatory or suggested? Panelists will discuss how university presses can work with MOOC providers and professors, and assess the present and future paths of online learning.
Chair: Michelle Pullano, Textbook Marketing Manager, MIT Press [Presentation] [Notes]
Panelists: Alan Harvey, Director, Stanford University Press; Douglas Fisher, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Computer Engineering, Vanderbilt University [Presentation]; Sanjay Sarma, Director of Digital Learning, MIT
Designing with a Template
Design templates can be both efficient and unwieldy. But designers and others are coming around to the idea that template design does not automatically equal poor design. By innovating and making templates work with EPUB and XML workflows, smart template design is possible, and can even help brand a press.
Chair: Marianne Jankowski, Art Director, Northwestern University Press
Panelists: Kaelin Broaddus, Design and Production Manager, University of Georgia Press; Linda Secondari, Creative Director, Global Academic Business, Oxford University Press; Martha Sewall, Art Director, Johns Hopkins University Press
12:00 – 1:30 p.m. Lunch with Valedictory Presidential and Incoming Director Addresses, and Presentation of the AAUP Constituency Award
Speakers: Peter Dougherty, AAUP President and Director, Princeton University Press; Peter Berkery, AAUP Executive Director
Read Dougherty’s valedictory address >
1:45 – 3:00 p.m. Concurrent Sessions
Preparing for the Unexpected: What Happens When the Inconceivable Happens?
Presses have faced numerous unexpected and significant events, from natural disasters like fire and floods, to technology malfunctions and budget cuts. Major impacts to employees, operations, authors, and physical and literary assets are possible at a moment’s notice. Identifying possible problems and designing an effective response are the first step in preparation.
Chair: Thomas Helleberg, Business Manager, New York University Press
Panelists: MaryKatherine Callaway, Director, Louisiana State University Press; Lynn Werts, Associate Director/EDP Manager, University Press of Florida
Investing in Donor-Community Relations
When does a press decide to create a position for a person to find, nurture, and solicit donors, foundations, and universities? How is this position different at public and private university presses? What are some of the methods and new ideas for bringing in funding in this way? Plan to come share ideas and experiences, and learn about ways to raise subvention money during these transformational times.
Chair: Bonnie Perkel, Development Coordinator, Duke University Press
Panelists: Jane Hoehner, Director, Wayne State University Press; Joanna Ruth Marsland, Director of Development, University of North Carolina Press; Nicole Mitchell, Director, University of Washington Press
Emergent EDP Workflows: Ideas to Help Cope with Chaos
This very practical panel will present an overview of some sample editorial, design, and production workflows, from raw text and art gathering to print and EPUB output, from a wide variety of environments. Panelists will present one or two brief case studies of projects they have seen pass through their respective shops recently. Along the way they will describe some of the tools, off-the-shelf and bespoke, that they consider essential to the way their organizations work; and suggest possible solutions to the workflow challenges they and others face. Tools and platforms to be discussed will include InDesign, InCopy, WordPress, HTML5, CSS, many flavors of XML, and of course Microsoft Office. A lively question-and-answer period/melee will close the session.
Chair: Than Saffel, Production Manager/Art Director, West Virginia University Press
Panelists: Sylvia Hunter, Editorial Manager, University of Toronto Press; Hugh McGuire, Founder, PressBooks.com; Linda Secondari, Creative Director, Global Academic Business, Oxford University Press
[Watch session]
Book Tour 2.0
The days of sending authors out on expensive book tours through Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and beyond are mostly over, but are book tours well and truly dead? A panel of publishers and authors will describe novel ways to “tour” authors in virtual worlds including blog book tours, online book-chats and author Q&As on Reddit, “signing” ebooks, and virtual reality lecture venues and will assess their viability and success for university press subjects and authors. The panel will also compare this brave new world with old-fashioned whistle-stop tours with regards to effort, cost, and results.
Chair: Holli Koster, Publicity and Advertising Manager, Texas A&M University Press
Panelists: Rachel Ewen, Publicist, Cambridge University Press; Pat Suhrcke, Director, Cambridge Forum; Lissa Warren, Senior Director of Publicity, Da Capo Press
Digital Piracy Review and Discussion
Is digital piracy a real issue for university press books? If so, in what ways, and what can we do about it? This panel will bring together researchers and rights administrators to survey the scope of the challenge and consider approaches in dealing with it—both day-to-day and at the policy level.
Chair: Claire Lewis Evans, Editor for Digital and Electronic Publishing, University of Alabama Press
Panelists: Lydia Crowe, Rights & Permissions Manager, University of Iowa Press [Presentation] [Handouts]; Brian O’Leary, Principal, Magellan Media Consulting [Presentation]; Michael Schwartz, Contracts, Copyright, & Permissions Supervisor, Princeton University Press [Presentation]
3:00 – 3:30 p.m. Coffee Break
3:30 – 4:45 p.m. Concurrent Sessions
Managing Print Inventory in the Digital Age: Solutions and Business Models
Panelists from the 2012 workshop on inventory management reunite to discuss how presses should be thinking about inventory in a “just in time” world. Inventory is no longer the purview of a single department, and how inventory is managed significantly affects not only cash flow but sales, editorial decisions, printing methods, and reprint procedures. Panelists will examine inventory models from a variety of perspectives and share challenges and success stories from their own presses.
Chair: Leila W. Salisbury, Director, University Press of Mississippi
Panelists: Fred Nachbaur, Director, Fordham University Press; Jennifer Norton, Associate Director/Design & Production, Penn State University Press; Rebecca Schrader, Associate Director and Director of Finance and Operations, MIT Press
[Watch session]
The Potential of Campus Collaborations
This session offers ideas and specific examples of ways to strengthen your press by exploiting campus services and fostering collaborations with campus partners. A general checklist of ideas will be offered, and specific topics will include working with university legal counsel, serving on university committees, distribution for campus publishing partners, a branding campaign for a press affiliated with eight campuses, press-library collaborations, and more.
Chair: Sheila Leary, Director, University of Wisconsin Press
Panelists: Michael G. Fisher, Assistant Director for University Relations/Executive Editor for Science and Medicine, Harvard University Press; Melissa Pitts, Director, University of British Columbia Press; Steven B. Yates, Assistant Director/Marketing Director, University Press of Mississippi [Notes]
E Before P
As digital projects make up a growing part of the publishing conversation, the opportunities for editors to engage in innovative publishing has increased; but so, too, have the risks. This panel will consider the questions that face university presses as they move into the digital realm. What are the factors that influence an acquiring editor’s decision to publish a project in digital-born or digital-first format? What unique challenges do these projects present to colleagues in production, marketing, and sales? How can digital projects—especially those that never become printed books—fit into the larger mission of university press publishing? The panelists will draw from experience within a variety of formats to explore both the promise and the pitfalls of engaging in digital-first or digital-only projects.
Chair: Seth Ditchik, Executive Editor, Princeton University Press
Panelists: Aaron McCullough, Assistant Director for Editorial Activities, University of Michigan Press; Amanda Moon, Senior Editor, Scientific American/Farrar, Straus & Giroux; Damon Zucca, Publisher, Scholarly Reference and Online, Oxford University Press
The Future of Altmetrics
What is next for measuring journal quality? The current system is limping along in the new digital environment, but cultures in the academy need to change, technology needs to change, and a determination about the level of human intervention needs to change. It will be important to review and vet new metrics as they arise, and to learn how impactful an article or journal is beyond what is typically accepted, such as acceptance rates and impact factor numbers. This is particularly important for niche journals, whose numbers may be low, but whose work is critically important to a very small field of scholars. Panelists will discuss how university presses can benefit from applying altmetrics to their business, even as the community continues to shape standards and best practices.
Co-Chairs: Katherine Purple, Production Editor, Purdue University Press; Jill Rodgers, Marketing Manager, MIT Press
Panelists: Euan Addie, Founder, Altmetric.com; Gregg Gordon, President & CEO, Social Science Research Network (SSRN); Wendy Queen, Associate Director, Project Muse/Johns Hopkins University Press [Presentation]
AAUP Book, Jacket, and Journal Show
Judges review their selections for the 2013 show.
Chair: Lindsay Starr, Designer, University of Texas Press
Jurors: Mark Abrams, Book Cover Designer, Vintage Books; Alex Camlin, Creative Director, Da Capo Press; Barbara deWilde, Freelance Designer; Charlotte Strick, Art Director, Faber & Faber, Inc. and Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
5:00 – 6:15 p.m. Concurrent Sessions
(Re)Branding the Journal
This panel will discuss journal brand creation and maintenance at both the journal and the press/list level. Panelists will discuss case studies of successful journal branding, and rebranding, campaigns. What are the goals that we set for a rebranding campaign—more subscribers, more submissions, more clicks? What role does multimedia play in branding a journal? How can publishers use video, podcasts, and blogs to create a stronger, more cohesive public relations strategy? Can a campaign be successful without full support and effort from journal editors?
Chair: Elizabeth Brown, Manager of Publisher Relations, Project MUSE, Johns Hopkins University Press
Panelists: Dianna Gilroy, Production Editor and Managing Editor of Shofar, Purdue University Press [Presentation]; Brian Shea, Public Relations and Advertising Coordinator, Johns Hopkins University Press [Presentation]
The Modern Day Marketing Campaign
Marketing staff will talk about effective and realistic ways of crafting a marketing campaign by shifting from print to digital marketing, incorporating social media ideas, and recognizing changes in text promotion, advertising, and direct mail. This panel will discuss how to blend digital and traditional marketing efforts within small, mid-size, and large presses.
Chair: Dennis Lloyd, Deputy Director, University Press of Florida
Panelists: Barbara Briggs, Publicity & Subsidiary Rights Manager, University Press of New England; Jeff Colosino, Online Outreach & Enterprise Data Specialist, National Academies Press; Allison Means, Marketing Manager, University of Iowa Press [Notes]; Jessica Pellien, Assistant Publicity Director, Princeton University Press
Dude, Where’s My Metadata?
How many university press publishers know how (and how much) their book metadata is transformed from the data file they deliver into the distribution stream? What do wholesalers, retailers, libraries, and companies like Bowker do with a publisher’s metadata? Are publishers wasting time creating metadata elements that their partners ignore, while omitting others they can truly use? Join an expert panel to learn how to create metadata files optimized for use by the book trade. Panelists discuss what distinguishes “core” metadata from “nice-to-haves”; which metadata elements can change after ingestion and why; and how an element from an outside source can override one from your carefully constructed file. By knowing what information literally “goes nowhere” and what will ultimately reach your customers, you can help your data make a difference.
Chair: Susan Doerr, Operations Manager, University of Minnesota Press
Panelists: Rebecca Albani, Publisher Relations Manager, RR Bowker; Bob Oeste, Senior Programmer/Analyst, Johns Hopkins University Press; Mason Smith, Lead Content Manager, Christian & University Presses, Ingram Content Group
[Watch session]
EPUBs 4 Ways
The panel looks at four ways ePubs are being created currently: (1) from XML-first prepared texts using an XSL transform; (2) exported from a desktop publishing application such as InDesign; (3) converted post production from a PDF using an off-the-shelf conversion tool such as Calibre; and (4) converted post production by a third party service provider. What kind of results should you expect? How is quality assurance impacted? The session includes demonstrations and comparison of results. Panelists will discuss the pros and cons, tips-tricks-and-traps of each method.
Chair: Hamish Cameron, Vice President of Distribution & MIS, University of Toronto Press
Panelists: Chris Cosner, IT Manager, Stanford University Press; Sylvia Hunter, Manager of Journals, Editorial & Production, University of Toronto Press; Steve Izma, Computing Systems Administrator, Wilfrid Laurier Press; Kenneth Reed, Managing Editor for Digital Publications, Princeton University Press [Presentation]
Press Library Coalition Forum
Discussion board comments coming from various librarians about “those greedy publishers” and “everything produced on campus here should be open” have troubled many university presses. Presses strive to serve as many parts of their institutions as they can, some quite creatively. The division on campuses between the two groups of information professionals who possess the expertise to service scholars’ varied needs around the management, dissemination, and preservation of their research serves nobody well. This panel will feature two press directors and two deans of libraries to talk about the Library Publishing Coalition specifically, and possibilities for library-press collaborations generally. This mostly Q&A format hopes to soften the tone and the lines, engage in mutual education, and find points of commonality.
Chair: Meredith Babb, Director, University Press of Florida
Panelists: Rush G. Miller, Director, University Library System, University of Pittsburgh; James L. Mullins, Dean of Libraries & Esther Ellis Norton Professor, Purdue University; Donna Shear, Director, University of Nebraska Press
6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Reception
Sponsored by The New York Review of Books
Unfortunately, space limitations will limit reception attendance to AAUP members only.
9:00 p.m. Tweet-Up
Co-hosts: Susan Doerr (@susanmpls), Operations Manager, University of Minnesota Press; John P. Hussey (@bookhussey), Assistant Director of Sales/National Accounts Manager, Princeton University Press
Location: Lucky’s Lounge, 355 Congress Street
Saturday, June 22
7:30 – 8:45 a.m. Continental Breakfast
9:00 – 10:15 a.m. Plenary 2
It Happened in Missouri
The panel will reflect on the closing and re-opening of the University of Missouri Press. What was the role of social media in rallying public sentiment, and what does the episode mean for how different constituents view university presses?
Host: Greg Britton, Editorial Director, Johns Hopkins University Press
Speakers: Bruce Joshua Miller, President, Miller Trade Book Marketing, Inc.; Janese Silvey, Story Specialist/Strategist, Stephens College (formerly Reporter, Columbia Daily Tribune); Ned Stuckey-French, Assistant Professor of English at Florida State University and UMP author; Clair Willcox, Editor-in-Chief and Associate Director, University of Missouri Press
[Watch session]
10:15 – 10:45 a.m. Coffee Break
10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Concurrent Sessions
Getting the Message Across: How UP Staff Can Convey our Mission to the Scholarly Communication Community
Ever feel like other folks on your campus don’t understand what your press does, why it exists, why it needs money if it sells books, or why it takes money at all if information wants to be free? Ever try to explain the differences between university presses and commercial presses? The scholarly communications ecosystem in general? How peer review works and how your press board makes decisions? Why scholarly books require marketing? The basics of digital publishing? Why publishing the manuscript written by the mother of a member of the university board of trustees might not be a great idea (but giving her advice about her options is)? How a university press can help lower student costs? Representatives from different departments within a press will relate how they describe their press’s mission and their own role in it both within and outside their home university so that you, too, can help spread the word about what your press does.
Chair: Alex Holzman, Director, Temple University Press
Panelists: Becky Brasington Clark, Marketing Director, Johns Hopkins University Press; Susan Doerr, Operations Manager, University of Minnesota Press; Leila Salisbury, Director, University Press of Mississippi
Boston Media Panel, or What We Want
Here is an opportunity for publicists and marketers in the university press community to learn useful ways to pitch books to Boston-based outlets. This panel will be a round-table featuring editors and producers from Boston-based media outlets who will discuss what they look for from university presses when considering book coverage, their thoughts about online coverage, whether moving beyond the print book review has changed expectations, and which books pique their interest. Questions from the audience will be encouraged, so please come prepared for a dynamic discussion.
Chair: Margaux Leonard, Publicist, Harvard University Press
Panelists: Jessica Alpert, Associate Producer, WBUR, Radio Boston; Simon Waxman, Managing Editor, Boston Review; Maureen Hoch, Senior Editor, Harvard Business Review; Amanda Katz, Deputy Editor, Ideas, Boston Globe; Marjorie Kehe, Books Editor, Christian Science Monitor
Expanding Print Sales in a Post-Ebook World
In a publishing world that is shifting to more ebooks and less print, which areas can sales departments still increase to maximize print exposure and sales? This panel will investigate and discuss various techniques including: capitalizing on backlist and out-of-print availability with POD expansion; nontraditional accounts such as museum stores, state and national parks, specialty wholesalers, and non-bookstore chains; and international POD and the foray into a global marketplace. This panel will be useful for presses of all sizes and will contain national and regional takeaways.
Chair: John P. Hussey, Assistant Director of Sales/National Accounts Manager, Princeton University Press
Panelists: Brendan Coyne, Associate Sales Director, Johns Hopkins University Press; Gianna LaMorte, Sales Manager, University of Texas Press; Tony Sanfillipo, Assistant Director/Marketing & Sales Director, Penn State University Press [Presentation]
What’s Next in Digital Publishing: HTML5, EPUB3, and Beyond
EPUB3 and HTML5 are the newest specifications in industry standards designed to support electronic publications and web browsers, respectively. Together, they offer new promise and attributes for publishers working to develop robust digital publications while maintaining traditional standards. This session brings together technology and standards specialists to review the nuts and bolts of the substantially revised specs: their attributes, how they differ from earlier iterations, their potential to create more technically enhanced ebooks and products, and how device manufacturers and digital content vendors are likely to respond. Also, how will existing digital publications made to earlier specifications function as the digital space and marketplace evolve?
Chair: Marguerite Avery, Acquisitions Editor, MIT Press
Panelists: Krista Coulsen, Digital Publishing Manager, University of Chicago Press; Liza Daly, Vice President of Engineering, Safari Books; Shana Kimball, Business Development Manager for Digital Initiatives, New York Public Library and Knowledge Unlatched; Nettie Lagace, Associate Director for Programs, NISO
[Watch session]
Rebranding Our Backlists: Deciding What, When, and How
Panelists will look at tools for strategically rebranding and repurposing backlists, including analytics and backlist reviews, sales input, cover design and book packaging, new technologies for new formats, and a discussion of university press branding from an association perspective. Panelists will present initiatives: new series, purchase and redevelopment of another press’s backlist, reviving classics, and more. (Twitter hashtags: #aaup13 #rebrandingbooks)
Chair: Pam McClanahan, Director, Minnesota Historical Society Press
Panelists: Craig Gill, Assistant Director and Editor-in-Chief, University Press of Mississippi; Maria Lindenfeldar, Director of Design, Princeton University Press; Jim McCoy, Director, University of Iowa Press
12:00 – 1:30 p.m. Lunch and Inaugural Presidential Address, with Announcement of Exhibit Prize Drawings
Speaker: Philip Cercone, AAUP President-Elect and Director, McGill-Queens University Press
Read Cercone’s inaugural address >
1:45 – 3:00 p.m. Concurrent Sessions
Creating a Social Media Strategy
What are the best practices and methods in social media? How can we develop strategies to promote individual books and authors, categorical lists, and our presses as a whole? How can editors use social media to connect authors and books to the general scholarly conversation? How can we leverage social media to convert fans and followers into customers? And how do we measure the results of all this effort?
Chair: Laura Sell, Publicity and Advertising Manager, Duke University Press
Panelists: Danny Bellet, Publicity Manager, Penn State University Press [Presentation] [Notes]; Brendan Coyne, Associate Sales Director, Johns Hopkins University Press; Alyssa Hassan, Senior Marketing Manager, Beacon Press; Ken Wissoker, Editorial Director, Duke University Press
Genres for the Trade: University Press Imprints
As university presses experiment with different types of books aimed at reaching new audiences, what can we learn from the successes and limitations of trade and/or regional imprints? Panelists will draw on experiences managing established imprints (Belknap, Swallow, and Bison) and also talk about starting a new one (Empire State Editions). In addition to considering issues related to peer review, marketing, and electronic publishing, the panelists will talk about how publishing under an imprint compares with trade publishing more generally.
Chair: Derek Krissoff, Editor-in-Chief, University of Nebraska Press
Panelists: Gillian Berchowitz, Editorial Director, Ohio University Press; Susan Wallace Boehmer, Editor-in-Chief, Harvard University Press; Fred Nachbaur, Director, Fordham University Press
University Press & Library Cohabitation and Collaboration: Challenges and Opportunities
In these times of rapidly developing advances in electronic publishing, shrinking financial resources in higher education, and increasing demands for more timely publication, it comes as no surprise that university presses are working more closely with their university libraries. As of March 2012, 19 of the 112 member presses responding to a biennial AAUP survey indicated that they report to their university library. Several presses have physically moved in with their university libraries. Many presses and libraries work separately on campus while developing connections. How is all this working? Are publishers and librarians effectively learning from each other about their respective experience and expertise? This session will open with an overview of formal press-library partnerships. Other panelists will describe the working relationships at their respective presses and libraries, consider new collaborations that might be developed for the publication of scholarly books, journals, and other materials, and discuss fruitful ways to move forward in these challenging times.
Chair: Mary Elizabeth Braun, Acquisitions Editor, Oregon State University Press
Panelists: Lisa Bayer, Director, University of Georgia Press; Kathryn Conrad, Director, University of Arizona Press; Peter J. Potter, Editor, Cornell University Press; Charles T. Watkinson, Director, Purdue University Press [Presentation]
Working Together, Far Apart
New technologies have expanded the possibilities for remote work like never before within the AAUP community. Video conferencing, paperless processes, and sophisticated online data management tools all have the potential to close the distance between presses and their remote employees. Telecommuting is not without its critics, however, including Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, who recently ended Yahoo’s popular work-from-home program, citing the company’s need for increased collaboration and innovation. This panel will look at the benefits and potential drawbacks of enabling remote work, whether temporary or permanent, as well as the best practices for telecommuting staff to keep remote working relationships positive and productive. Topics will include developing telecommuting plans, accountability, maintaining communication, and troubleshooting remote work situations as well as ways for presses to become more flexible in their operations to accommodate remote workers. Panelists will discuss the challenges, surprises, and new opportunities that arise as presses adapt to this changing workplace dynamic.
Chair: Larin McLaughlin, Senior Editor, University of Illinois Press
Panelists: Allyson Carter, Editor-in-Chief, University of Arizona Press; Rachael Levay, Marketing and Sales Director, University of Washington Press; Mary Kate Maco, Publicity and Public Relations Manager, Stanford University Press
Your Title Management System: Buy It or Build It?
Formerly known as the “presswide database,” today’s Title Management System (TMS) is an essential tool for publishers of all sizes. Tracking a book project on its journey from a gleam in the editor’s eye through editing, production, marketing, and rights management, your TMS keeps information at the fingertips of those who need it, secure from those who don’t, and discoverable by those who don’t yet know it’s there. This panel explores the pros and cons of building and maintaining your own TMS in-house versus buying or licensing a commercially available product. Representatives from both sides of the divide square off to argue the case for their respective solutions, and some who moved from one side to the other explain how and why they made the change. Systems to be discussed include Virtusales, Firebrand, and custom-built solutions.
Chair: Bob Oeste, Senior Programmer/Analyst, Johns Hopkins University Press
Panelists: Chris Cosner, IT Manager, Stanford University Press; Neil Litt, Director of EDP, Princeton University Press; Dennis Lloyd, Deputy Director, University Press of Florida; Alice Randel Pfeiffer, Director, Syracuse University Press; Bonnie Russell, Technical Project Manager, Wayne State University Press [Presentation]; Elizabeth Scarpelli, Assistant Press Director & Sales and Marketing Director, Rutgers University Press
[Watch session]
3:00 – 3:30 p.m. Coffee Break
3:30 – 4:45 p.m. Concurrent Sessions
Everything You Wanted to Know about a P&L and Were Afraid to Ask
This session engages the evolution of the P&L (profit & loss statement) from a strictly print-based evaluation tool to one that’s suited to all the permutations of the digital age. P&L models from four different presses of various sizes will be shown, some P&Ls will be demonstrated, and we’ll discuss the goals and driving concepts behind each press’s variant of the P&L. Panelists will talk about how decisions that go into the P&L are made, such as print run projections, how overhead is addressed, how the P&L is integrated with production estimates and the P&L’s use for both budgeting and retrospective performance.
Chair: Rebecca Schrader, Director of Finance & Operations, MIT Press
Panelists: Doug Armato, Director, University of Minnesota Press; Tom Helleberg, Business Manager, New York University Press; John Rollins, CFO, Yale University Press; Fran Toolan, Chief Igniter, Firebrand Technologies [Presentation]
[Watch session]
Do We Need a Content Management System? Where Do We Start?
This panel will delve into content management systems and the practicalities of implementing them from technological and production standpoints. Panelists will provide an overview of CMS: what it is, who needs one, and how it can improve workflow efficiencies; will discuss lessons learned and challenges faced in developing home-grown production management systems for both journals and ebook production workflow; and will highlight the differences between a CMS and a DAM system, considering ways a DAM can provide opportunities for aggregating and disaggregating content to create new products such as digital shorts, omnibus editions, and enhanced ebooks.
Chair: Claire Tamberino, Ebook and Digital Promotion Manager, Johns Hopkins University Press
Panelists: Marjorie Fowler, Digital Asset Coordinator, University of North Carolina Press; Bill Kasdorf, Vice President of Content Solutions, Apex CoVantage; Elizabeth Windsor, Production Manager, Project MUSE
New Funding Opportunities
Crowdfunding may seem antithetical to the mission of the university press. We’re committed to publishing books because of their scholarly value, sometimes in spite of their projected sales. Yet university presses and our partners are experimenting with crowdfunding in novel and productive ways. Join an expert panel discussing creative forms of crowdfunding, from building a community of press authors through a royalty donation program, to funding books through Kickstarter, to supporting open access editions. Learn how crowdfunding can help your press strengthen relationships with constituents, including authors, community members, and librarians.
Chair: Jason Weidemann, Senior Acquisitions Editor, University of Minnesota Press
Panelists: Jean Kim, Director of Finance and Operations, Stanford University Press; Sarah Murphy, Promotions Manager, Wayne State University Press; Frances Pinter, Executive Director, Knowledge Unlatched
Websites 2.0
If we aren’t using our websites as a true “sales” arm (since most people buy via Amazon or another vendor), what are their roles? If we shift away from “we’re selling books here,” what’s left? If the website is a branding opportunity, how does a site present its press and what is its role in various processes—publishing, scholarly communication generally, campus unit, etc.? This panel will consider the website reboot from multiple perspectives, and examine several forward-thinking concepts already in place on university press websites.
Chair: Kathleen O’Brien-Nicholson, Marketing Director, Fordham University Press
Panelists: Jason Coleman, Marketing and Promotions Manager, University of Virginia Press; Katie Hope, Marketing Director, MIT Press; Bonnie Russell, Technical Project Manager, Wayne State University Press [Presentation]
Preparing Authors and Managing Expectations
As a first point of contact for potential authors, acquisitions editors must be prepared to advise not only about procedures and workflows related to acquiring, but also about what to expect as books make their way through editorial, design, production, and marketing. As a result, they often field questions that depend upon the expertise and resources of other departments. For example, editors typically share formal “guidelines” for manuscript preparation with authors upon signing, often having to walk authors through them carefully. This informal panel will address how we can work together interdepartmentally to best educate authors about procedures and workflows. What instructions should acquisitions editors pass along to authors so that the projects they transmit are in the best possible shape for EDP and Marketing? At what point should editors put authors in touch with other departments directly? What strategies can acquisitions editors use to leverage the expertise of other departments in a way that both attracts authors and manages their expectations?
Chair: Kendra Boileau, Editor-in-Chief, Penn State University Press
Panelists: Mick Gusinde-Duffy, Assistant Director/Editor-in-Chief, University of Georgia Press; Laura Reed-Morrisson, Managing Editor, Penn State University Press; Michael Roux, Marketing Manager, University of Illinois Press
5:00 – 6:15 p.m. Concurrent Sessions
The Implications of Two Critical Decisions On the First Sale Doctrine: Kirtsaeng on Foreign Editions and ReDigion Re-Sale of Digital Music Files
In its March decision in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, the US Supreme Court determined that the first sale doctrine does apply to works made overseas, significantly impacting publishers’ ability to sell more reasonable editions abroad. The manner in which courts construe the first sale doctrine will also determine whether it will be legal to create a secondary market in “used ebooks.” In March, a federal district court held in Capital Records v. ReDigi that the first sale doctrine does not allow for the creation of a marketplace for “used” digital music files, but the case is not over. This issue is of particular concern because Amazon and Apple have filed for patents on marketplaces for used digital files. In this session Linda Steinman, a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP (and AAUP’s regular outside counsel), will discuss the ramifications of these issues, as well as provide a brief update on open access legislation.
Chair: Linda Steinman, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Reduce, Re-Use, Recycle
Taking the environmentalists’ slogan as our starting point, this panel will discuss the ways in which the intellectual environment can be conserved and enriched by new(er) forms of publishing—some in fact very old. We’ll consider the current trend of short-form publishing in several veins: reduced, essay-style publications; re-used material, such as extracted chapters published as stand-alone volumes; and recycled content such as blog-to-book and serialized publications. We’ll be mixing publishing strategy and experience with some wishful thinking in an adventurous dialog that we hope will be both controversial and constructive.
Chair: Alan Harvey, Director, Stanford University Press
Panelists: Doug Armato, Director, University of Minnesota Press; Greg Britton, Editorial Director, Johns Hopkins University Press; William Germano, Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, Cooper Union
The 21st Century Catalog
Many internal constituents, from sales and marketing to acquisitions and development, use the university press catalog for their own purposes. In this session, panelists will explore the strategies and options for external catalog use: for librarians, media, international markets, and so on. E-versions work for some contexts, but are not ready for others, so we’ll touch on this as well. The conversation will also delve into the seasonal model: do seasons unnecessarily restrict publication speed? Must all titles stick to a catalog/season model? With changing production practices, author expectations, and media demands, how might the season and catalog system work best?
Chair: Fran Keneston, Director of Marketing & Publicity, SUNY Press
Panelists: Katie Hope, Marketing Director, MIT Press; Linda Manning, Marketing & Sales Manager, University of Utah Press; Liz Scarpelli, Sales & Marketing Director, Rutgers University Press
Reaching the World
Inspired by Princeton University Press Director Peter Dougherty’s impassioned speech at last year’s meeting, on “The Global University Press” (a must-read version of which appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education), this session focuses on how presses reach and reshape the global market. Specific topics include: international POD, licensing, distribution, strategic use of social networks (blogs), open acess, hybrid OA, and collaborations with both international units on campus and with satellite offices of our parent institutions overseas.
Chair: Peter Froehlich, Rights & Permissions Manager, Indiana University Press
Panelists: Philip Cercone, Director, McGill-Queens University Press; Jose de Buerba, Senior Publishing Officer & Marketing Manager, World Bank Publications; Sam Ford, Director of Digital Strategy at Peppercomm, Research Affiliate for MIT Comparative Media Studies, and Instructor with Western Kentucky University Pop Culture Studies Program; Tim Sullivan, Editorial Director, Harvard Business Review Press
[Watch session]
Redesign A Classic
This exciting panel will have multiple designers think as futuristically and as broadly as possible to redesign a classic title, with no limits. Designers will present the old version, the new version, and then explain how they got there. We will also include freelancers, for new perspectives and voices. This will be an energetic and exciting session for attendees of all kinds.
Chair: Sonia Shannon, Senior Book Designer, Yale University Press
Panelists: Jill Breitbarth, Senior Book Designer, Harvard University Press; Barbara DeWilde, Freelance Designer; Carin Goldberg, Principal, Carin Goldberg Design; Thomas Starr, Professor of Graphic Design, Northeastern University
6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Reception to Celebrate the Centennial of Harvard University Press
Sponsored by Harvard University Press
Location: Institute of Contemporary Art