Publishing, Demystified!

The first iteration of Publishing, Demystified! took place over three events on April 10 and April 24, 2026. Organized by ADRs Meggan Gould (CFA) and Renia Ehrenfeucht (SAAP), FRSO Ashley Lazevnick and Associate Professor Stephanie Beene (University Libraries), the events included a book proposal workshop and two panel discussions on the changing landscape of book publishing.

The book proposal workshop (4/10) was led by Michelle Komie, publisher at Princeton University Press. The workshop was hands-on and high impact. Michelle gave an introduction to academic publishing, explained the structure and expectations of a book proposal, and shared what she looks for when reading proposals.

The first panel discussion (4/10) included Michelle Komie as well as James Ayers (Assistant Director, UNM Press), Nick Larsen (Production Editor, Radius Books), and Kate Schell (Senior Editor at Routledge Press) in conversation with Stephanie Beene. The panelists gave overviews of the typical acquisition and publishing processes at their various institutions, covered their different approaches to peer review and engagement with authors, and made suggestions for those interested in publishing with trade imprints.

The second panel discussion (4/24) included UNM faculty Subhankar Banerjee (Art), Ana Alonso-Minutti (Music), Nancy López (Sociology), Jennifer Jordan (University Libraries). The exchange was loose and wide-ranging, with panelists sharing their personal trajectories and discussing how they chose a press, their motivations for publishing, and their desires to fill a gap in scholarship or make a difference in their field.

Moving forward, we hope to continue this initiative in some form, with future events responding to an increasing interest in trade publishing and public scholarship and the need for support amongst first-time authors who are publishing in disciplines where a book is not a conventional expectation.