Notes from the editorial desk
Essays on how academic books actually get made — proposals, peer review, production, and the economics underneath it all.
Top stories
How long should an academic book actually be?
The honest answer is that length is a consequence, not a target. But authors ask, and vague answers help nobody, so here are the numbers we actually work to.Monographs: 80,000 to 140,000…
Read moreLatest essays
Citations, metrics and what a book is worth
Books sit awkwardly inside a research evaluation culture built for journal articles. The metrics that govern careers were designed...
Read more Turning a doctoral thesis into a book people will read
A thesis and a book are different objects with different readers. The thesis proves to a committee that you...
Read more Spring 2026: eleven new titles across the list
Our spring list is confirmed. Eleven titles across seven disciplines, with three going simultaneously into paperback, ebook and audiobook.Lead...
Read more Why we keep the backlist alive
Trade publishing measures a book by its first twelve weeks. Academic publishing cannot afford to, because the research book...
Read more How to read a royalty statement
Royalty statements are among the least transparent documents in publishing, and that opacity is a choice. Here is how...
Read more Open access and the monograph: where we actually are
Open access arrived in journals first and the economics translated badly to books. A monograph is not a longer...
Read moreFor authors
What a commissioning editor actually looks for in a proposal
Every week we read proposals that describe a good piece of research and still fail to make the case...
Read more Turning a doctoral thesis into a book people will read
A thesis and a book are different objects with different readers. The thesis proves to a committee that you...
Read more How to read a royalty statement
Royalty statements are among the least transparent documents in publishing, and that opacity is a choice. Here is how...
Read morePeer review
What double anonymous review can and cannot do
Double anonymous review is the default for research monographs on our list. It is a good default. It is...
Read more Peer review is not a gate. It is a conversation.
Authors often describe peer review as something done to them. That framing is understandable and it is mostly the...
Read more How we choose referees
Referee selection is the single most consequential editorial decision in a book life, and it is made by the...
Read morePublishing craft
How long should an academic book actually be?
The honest answer is that length is a consequence, not a target. But authors ask, and vague answers help...
Read more The reference list is not an afterthought
Bibliographies are the last thing authors finish and the first thing specialists check. That asymmetry costs books more goodwill...
Read more Why we keep the backlist alive
Trade publishing measures a book by its first twelve weeks. Academic publishing cannot afford to, because the research book...
Read moreBecome a book insider
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