Seminar on Academic Publishing: Monographs and Other Book-length Publications.

Organized by HISTAC (Research programme for Historical Studies of Art and Culture, Aarhus University)

This seminar will address the many questions and practicalities related to publishing a book-length academic study. Everyone is welcome, whether or not you are currently working on a book project. NB. This seminar will only focus on book-length publications. Another seminar on publishing academic articles will follow in the spring.

• Date: October 28, 2025. Time 9.30-15.15.
• Place: LYNfabrikken, Vestergade 49B, 8000 Aarhus C.

Sign up here (deadline: 10/10/2025). NB. If you have a concrete book project in the making that you wish to discuss with Mark Dudgeon, you can book a 1-2-1 session (approx. 15 minutes), when you sign up for the seminar. Please note that due to time constraints, there is a limited number of slots for the 1-2-1 sessions, which will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, so we cannot guarantee availability. If you wish to use this option, we recommend that you sign up as soon as possible.

Preliminary Programme:

9.30-10.00 Arrivals and coffee

10.00 Lisbet Tarp and Simona Zetterberg-Nielsen (co-directors, HISTAC), “Welcome and introductions”

10.15-10.45 Mark Dudgeon (Bloomsbury Academic), “Publishing in the Humanities today”
Chair: Simona Zetterberg-Nielsen

This presentation will address the current landscape of international academic publishing in the Humanities. Mark will discuss the collaborative processes between publishers and academics, current and future changes, as well as pertinent topics, including diversifying academic publishing, Open Access and AI.

10.45-11.00 Comfort break

11.00-12.00 Mark Dudgeon (Bloomsbury Academic) and Gordon McMullan (King’s College London) “How to publish an academic book and plan your career”
Chair: Anne Sophie Refskou

This joint practical talk and Q&A will focus on the two main book-length publications in academia (monographs and edited collections of essays) and address hands-on questions about academic publishing, such as: What is a good book proposal? When do I write my book proposal? Who do I contact? How do I turn a doctoral thesis into a monograph? How long should my monograph be? Can I co-write a monograph? How do I plan an edited collection? Should I publish in a book series? How long does the whole publication process take from start to finish, and what does it involve? How do I work with my editor/series editor? How do I plan around deadlines? How do I boost my publication CV? What are the possibilities for publishing an academic book for a wide readership? Are there any particular possibilities or problems for scholars working on historical topics? And any additional questions from the audience!

12.00-12.45 Lunch

12.45-15.00: “1-2-1 sessions and break-out groups”

If you have a concrete book project in the making that you wish to discuss with Mark Dudgeon, you can book a 1-2-1 session (approx. 15 minutes). See above for how to book and please note the limited availability and first-come, first-served principle. Simultaneously, we will be running a number of break-out group discussions (which you can join and leave at any time), where we will share thoughts, experiences, tips and advice on the various processes involved in publishing an academic book.

• Coffee and cake will be available.

15.00 Final questions, comments and goodbyes

Speakers:

Mark Dudgeon is a Senior Publisher at Bloomsbury Academic with longstanding experience in academic, educational and trade publishing. He commissions publications for more than twenty academic series for Bloomsbury, including Theatre and Shakespeare Studies, and has extensive experience in working with both senior and emerging scholars.

Gordon McMullan is Professor of English Literature at King’s College London and a former research fellow at Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies (AIAS). He has published four monographs and ten edited collections, mainly with Bloomsbury Academic and Cambridge and Oxford University Presses. He is a general editor of two book series for Bloomsbury Academic.