Book Yourself In: Join the First Ever Academic Book Week!

Press Release
16 Jul 2015

16th July 2015

  • Blackwells, The British Library, Palgrave Macmillan and The University of Nottingham among the first to announce events to tie in with #AcBookWeek
  • All academic publishers, booksellers, researchers, libraries and institutions urged to sign up and host events     

Academic Book Week (#AcBookWeek) is seeking academic booksellers, publishers, libraries and researchers to host events from 9-16 November celebrating the first-ever Academic Book Week. The week will bring all of these groups together to celebrate the diversity, innovation and influence of academic books and debate the key issues facing academic books in current and future contexts. 

Academic Book Week is a key event in The Academic Book of the Future Project, a two-year research project to explore, interrogate and imagine the future of the academic book. #AcBookWeek will give researchers and publishers the opportunity to be part of a crucial discussion about current challenges for the academic book – both in the UK and internationally. 

Participation in events is open to everyone, from academic institutions to bookshops to publishers and those engaged or interested in the world of academic books. Events will include debates, seminars, workshops, competitions and social media promotions and will bring together people from all sides of the conversation. 

For more information on how to register an event: www.acbookweek.com or email rebecca.lyons@ucl.ac.uk  

Events already confirmed include:

Where Will Academic Books Live In The Future?

The historic past meets the future as a debate on the place of academic books in modern society takes place at Stationers’ Hall, Monday 9th November

Sprinting to the Open FuTure (SOFT)

A University of Nottingham collaboration between publishers, researchers and librarians with activities covering the whole week.

Celebrating the Academic Book

Sage Publishing will be teaming up with the University of Sussex library to host a series of events celebrating academic books. Various dates.

A History of the Academic Book

Blackwells bookshop in Edinburgh will be the venue for a seminar series held in conjunction with the Centre for the History of the Book, Edinburgh University, Napier University and Queen Margaret University. Various dates.

An Academic Book in a Month

In partnership with Palgrave Macmillan, ‘An Academic Book in a Month’ will see a peer-reviewed monograph produced in the month leading up to ABW. The book, titled The Academic Book of the Future will include expert views from librarians, publishers, booksellers, and academics on the current state and the future of academic books.

20 Academic Books that Changed the World

The 20 Academic Books that Changed the World, as chosen by a panel of booksellers, publishers and academics, will be announced in the autumn and voted on by students and the reading public to determine the Academic Book that Changed the World, which will be announced during Academic Book Week.

Academic Book Showcase

On Friday 13th November, The British Library will be hosting a showcase for The Academic Book of the Future Project, giving highlights of activities and research to date.

There will also be a major event planned for Blackwell’s Broad Street, Oxford as well as retail and PR promotions around the country.

Rebecca Lyons, Project Manager, The Academic Book of the Future, said: “The Academic Book of the Future Project comes at an important time of change for academic books and the contexts in which they are produced. Funding, technology, Higher Education, the Arts and Humanities, and the economy all have their effects on academic books, and all have faced various issues and developments in recent years. #AcBookWeek is all about celebrating academic books, and bringing academics, librarians, publishers, booksellers, institutions, and other interested people into meaningful conversation to interrogate and explore the future of academic books.” 

William Bowes, Chair of The Publishers Association Academic, Professional and Learning Council said: “Publishers are delighted to be supporting the very first Academic Book Week.  UK academic publishers are world leaders, working closely with researchers and others in the academic community to produce high quality text books, monographs and journals to support learning across the academic disciplines.  For publishers, academic bookshops play an absolutely vital role in showcasing the best of published academic material while advising students on suitable works.” 

Anthony Cond, Managing Director, Liverpool University Press, ALPSP Director and Council member, said: “As a university press we’re delighted to support Academic Book Week and the wider Academic Book of the Future project. It’s high time the spotlight was shone on all the book does for academia, research and the wider public.” 

Peter Lake, Business Development Director, John Smith Group, said: “This is a timely and welcome initiative. Students today are making huge commitments to furthering their skills and education and it is essential that lecturers, authors, publishers, platform providers and booksellers work together and enjoy the challenge of re-imaging how best to deliver content and better learning outcomes to those students. The key is for us all to ensure that students and institutions derive greater value, insight and benefit from the multiple ways content will be accessed, used, absorbed and shared in the future.” 

#AcBookWeek is being coordinated by the Arts and Humanities Research Council/ British Library Academic Book of the Future project team,, The Publishers’ Association, the Association of Learned & Professional Society Publishers and the Booksellers Association on behalf of The Academic Book of the Future Project. Follow the latest developments via Twitter: @AcBookFuture, and the Project Blog: https://academicbookfuture.org/blog.