Alternative Futures for What We Currently Call Publishing
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Introduction and Background of Alternative Futures —Jerome Martin DIY Publishing — All the rules are different —Kirby Wright Reinventing the Book World from the Bottom Up —Mark Leslie Lefebvre Alternative Futures in Academic Publishing —Todd Anderson Look Who’s Talking, Really: The Dialectic Relationship Between Author, Reader, and Publisher —Jessica Legacy Three Thoughts about the Alternative Futures for the Business We Currently call Publishing —Donna Livingstone Publish (Openly) or Perish: Reinventing Academic Publishing in the Wake of the University’s Collapse Futures for Publishing for Futures —Paul Martin The Next Chapter —Jerome Martin The Authors Alternative i Acknowledgements Introduction – Jerome Martin Several years ago a speaker at a publishing conference in Banff proclaimed that the idea of anyone reading a book on a screen was ludicrous and that there would never be any interest or opportunity in creating e-books. Friends at social gatherings continue to tell me that they would never read a book on a screen and that there is nothing like sitting in front of a crackling fire, with a book and a glass of fine wine. Fellow travellers on Air Canada now read from iPads, Kobo readers, and Kindles; others enjoy their paper books. They and other readers now have Futures for Publishing for Futures choices with respect to what they read and how they read it. Publishers – people or firms who create books or other products from material provided by authors – are unsure of the present and the future. Some are Alternative 1 excited about the new opportunities and have been producing e-books of various types for several years; others are terrified at the possibility of being something other than a producer of paper books, some of which come out in the spring and some which are produced for the fall market. This book resulted from an idea that was discussed at a board meeting of the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. We later received funding from the Alberta Ministry of Culture and Community Services for the project. We brought talented people together for two days at The Enjoy Centre in St. Albert with an assignment of ‘Write what you would like to write on the topic of Alternative Futures For What We Currently Call Publishing, then discuss your work and that of others in a two day retreat at the fabulous Enjoy Centre in St. Albert and we’ll create a book.’ We formatted the e-book based on the chapters we received, most of which contained links and video, then circulated the chapters prior to the symposium. As I expected, each chapter was unique, but there were distinct threads and common ideas connecting the chapters. One of the great pleasures of this event was working with Todd Anderson (Henday Publishing), Jessica Legacy, (University of Alberta and Henday Futures for Publishing for Futures Publishing) Mark Lefebvre (Kobo and Stark Consulting), Donna Livingstone (University of Calgary Press, Paul Martin (MacEwan University), and Kirby Wright (KRW Knowledge Resources). Alternative 2 The process was as important as the product: we shared ideas, discussed new technology and applications, and agreed on some common approaches. The process goes on as we complete the book and make it available to people who will be interested in our discussions. I hope that you enjoy participating in this book (I could say reading but there is more to this publication than words). We would appreciate your comments and ideas ([email protected]). The book is available at no cost at www.bookpublishers.ab.ca Special thanks to Kieran LeBlanc, Michael McLaughlin, Lu Ziola, and Melanie Eastley for their help in organizing the event and creating the book, to Merle Martin for her editing assistance,and to the Government of Alberta Ministry of Culture and Community Services (through the Alberta Media Development Fund) and the Book Publishers Association of Alberta for funding this project. Futures for Publishing for Futures Alternative 3 Background of Alternative Futures We are here because of a photography course which I took in January, 1972. This class changed my life in many ways. One of those ways was the people I met, people who became fine photographers as well as professionals in a variety of fields. One of those was Charles Schweger, an anthropologist and photographer. Charlie was interested in the work that I was doing in agriculture and how it related to work that he was doing at the University of Alberta. In 1979 I was invited by Charlie and his colleagues to participate in a Futures for Publishing for Futures symposium in a castle called Burg Wartenstein in the Austrian Alps. This twelfth-century castle was owned and operated by the Wenner- Gren Foundation and used to host various symposia. Our symposium, Alternative 4 Paleoecology of the Arctic-Steppe Biome, was a great intellectual and social experience, involving scientists and scholars from Europe and North America. The purpose of the conference was to circulate book chapters, discuss them and create a book about the reasons that large mammals perished in the far north during the Pleistocene Period. The Wenner-Gren Foundation describes their model for such events on their website. Years of experimenting with format and scale led to the emergence of a “Burg Wartenstein model,” built on the concept of small, interdisciplinary groups and intense interaction. Organizers worked hand-in-hand with the Foundation’s president to develop an idea, decide on the list of participants, and create the final program – a true collaboration that typically spanned 18-24 months. Symposia at the castle were usually week-long affairs, bringing together about 20 scholars with expertise in a topic selected for originality and promise of progress. Presentations were informal, pre- circulated papers were summarized but not read, and maximum time was spent discussing the cross-cutting issues that emerged. Futures for Publishing for Futures Through shared meals and social hours, participants had ample opportunity to build new friendships and new collaborations. In the two decades of conferences at Burg Wartenstein, the Foundation hosted more than 2,000 scholars at 86 symposia held Alternative 5 during the summer months. During these years, Wenner-Gren also organized and supported major conferences and experimental workshops in the United States and abroad, but the castle was the heart of the symposium program. Our papers were written and circulated to the other authors prior to the symposium. Travel arrangements were made by the Foundation, and meals and social activities were provided by staff at Burg Wartenstein. We spent a week discussing papers, debating, arguing – and learning how to yodel. The book that resulted from this symposium (Paleoecology of Beringia) was published in 1983 by Academic Press. Alternative Futures for Prairie Agricultural Communities In 1990 my colleague Lu Ziola and I used the Wenner-Gren model as the basis for our Alternative Futures for Prairie Agricultural Communities project. We had an idea, and a $10,000 grant. Our first objective was to choose the participants, many of whom were unsure of what we wanted and why we were including them. Futures for Publishing for Futures Our symposium included two evening sessions and two days of meetings at the Banff Centre. Alternative 6 We invited a diverse group of speakers: Charles Schweger, an anthropologist; Lorna Crozier, a poet; Ed Tyrchniewicz, Dean of Agriculture; University of Alberta; Norah Keating, a family gerontologist at the University of Alberta; Brett Fairbairn, an academic with expertise in the prairie co-op movement; Walter Archer and Bert Einsiedel, professors from the Faculty of Extension at the University of Alberta; Stuart Hill, an expert in and a proponent of sustainable agriculture; Don and Norma Connick, farmers from Saskatchewan; Joe Couture; a respected elder, cultural advisor, educator, academic and psychologist; and Noel McNaughton, an agricultural journalist and specialist in holistic management. Apple loaned us $30K worth of computers and other equipment for this event, while the Banff Centre offered us the use of what was then a very early version of the internet. Each author presented his or her chapters, then responded to questions. Discussions on individual chapters resulted in changes which were given to Lu at the end of the day’s discussions. She made the changes to the chapters in the evenings. Norah Keating had to be in New Zealand at the time of the sessions. We discussed her chapter on the first day, made suggestions and asked questions. Lu sent her the questions and queries in the evening. That seems quite elementary Futures for Publishing for Futures now, but in 1991 it was unheard of, at least in our circles. What was even more amazing was that by the following morning Norah had responded with changes to her chapters and responses to the queries; Lu made those changes to her chapter in Banff that day. Alternative 7 Lu also typed notes about the discussion, and we recorded the discussion on audio cassettes. I had hoped that we could leave Banff with a completed manuscript (with the exception of my summary chapter), but several of the authors wanted to make changes after the sessions. However, we walked to the printers on campus thirty days later and presented them with a floppy disk which contained the manuscript. The book was printed shortly after we delivered the disk. It and the CKUA radio program based on the book were well received by rural people, government extension workers, and academics. The book which resulted from the Wenner-Gren sessions was also published three years after the event, a rather normal session to publishing date interval for academic books then – and now. Futures for Publishing for Futures Alternative 8 DIY Publishing – All the rules are different – Kirby Wright My career as a publisher began in 1987.