Introduction Editorial policies are the invisible scaffolding of scholarly publishing. They determine what gets published, how peer review operates, how conflicts are managed, and how journals respond to ethical breaches. In short, they are the backbone of trust in academic communication. Yet many editorial policies haven’t been revised in years. Some haven’t even been read … Read more
Introduction Publishing as a profession predates copyright, printing presses, and even universities. Before Amazon upended the game, before Penguin paperbacks reshaped access to books, and well before anyone started worrying about open access or AI-generated textbooks, publishing was already a centuries-old trade. Some publishers today are older than the countries in which they operate. A … Read more
Introduction If academic writing had a VIP list, the literature review would be right at the top. It’s not the flashiest part of a thesis or paper, and it rarely gets quoted in the media, but it holds the scaffolding together. A literature review is the scholarly world’s equivalent of checking the map before heading … Read more
Introduction The academic publishing industry has long been proficient in two key areas: controlling access to scholarly knowledge and profiting from it. With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, big academic publishers aren’t merely adapting; they’re taking the lead. AI is no longer a toy for experimental labs. It’s a comprehensive strategy, a fundamental infrastructure … Read more
Introduction When most people hear “blockchain,” they think of crypto bros, Silicon Valley startups, or digital gold rushes. But the potential goes far beyond finance. In publishing, blockchain provides practical tools, including smarter licensing, faster royalty payments, clearer contracts, and a means to build trust in a digital-first world. Still, despite all the talk, blockchain … Read more