To mark our first birthday, the LSE Review of Books is holding an awards ceremony on 16 May 2013 to recognise the hard work of our contributors and to thank all parties involved in helping to support the initiative. Sam Burridge, Managing Director of Palgrave Macmillan, continues our series of blog posts from academic publishers, covering more details about the award Palgrave Macmillan is sponsoring and how integral the study of Politics is to their publishing ethos.
Which books first inspired your own interest in books and the world of publishing?
I am an avid reader, from Milan Kundera as a teenager to the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Complete Works of Shakespeare (published by Palgrave Macmillan, of course!). But I wouldn’t say one particular book inspired me to go into publishing. It’s a love of knowledge, and the huge impact that academic research makes in our everyday lives, which fascinates me.
Palgrave Macmillan is sponsoring the Politics prize at the forthcoming LSE Review of Books Awards. How important is this subject to Palgrave Macmillan’s history, identity, and legacy?
Given our link to former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, politics is a subject close to our hearts. Our award-winning Politics and International Studies list is one of Palgrave’s most diverse portfolios, covering a wide array of topics. We will publish 400 titles globally this year.
We pride ourselves on working closely with our authors and building relationships which last. For example, our International Political Economy series is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and has published more than 300 titles, edited by Timothy Shaw throughout that time.
What initiatives has Palgrave Macmillan undertaken to cater for our changing reading habits?
As you might expect now, all our scholarly titles are published simultaneously in e and print formats. Our platform for building digital libraries, Palgrave Connect, offers access to over 11,000 academic e-books in eleven subject areas. But it’s not just the way we read that’s changing – the way we write is changing too. Academics who publish with us now have the option to publish their research at its natural length, whether it be a full length monograph, a journal article, or now the mid-length option Palgrave Pivot. A digital-first initiative, we also pledge to publish Palgrave Pivots within 12 weeks of acceptance. I feel this makes it the ideal format for responding to events in current affairs.
What big new releases from Palgrave Macmillan can readers look forward to in the next few months?
In 2013, we’re excited about our Palgrave Pivot portfolio growing. In terms of specific books, I’m especially looking forward to Energy & Ethics by Benjamin Sovacool and a Palgrave Pivot title by Dr Chun Lin on China and Global Capitalism. A new journal, International Politics Review, will also be launched this year.
See our Events page for more information on the LSE Review of Books Awards 2013.
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Sam Burridge is Managing Director of Palgrave Macmillan. Joining Macmillan in 1995, Sam started as a Sales Representative for Eastern and Central Europe. During her time at Palgrave she has fulfilled several senior roles across sales, business development and executive publishing. In 2012 Sam took on her current role of Managing Director of Palgrave Macmillan.
