The Scholarly Publishing Scene-- PROSE Awards, Again

Against the Grain Volume 28 | Issue 6 Article 30 2016 The cholS arly Publishing Scene-- PROSE Awards, Again Myer Kutz Myer Kutz Associates, Inc., [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/atg Part of the Library and Information Science Commons Recommended Citation Kutz, Myer (2016) "The choS larly Publishing Scene-- PROSE Awards, Again," Against the Grain: Vol. 28: Iss. 6, Article 30. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7771/2380-176X.7576 This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact [email protected] for additional information. The Scholarly Publishing Scene — PROSE Awards, Again Column Editor: Myer Kutz (President, Myer Kutz Associates, Inc.) <[email protected]> I’m a PROSE Awards judge again this categories, including a textbook category. I The piles of books for academics and year, as I have been for more than a dozen like Kate to send me books as she receives practitioners also give me hope, although previous years. The awards, as you probably them (and her back allows.) I receive journal these books face the same Internet onslaught know, are conducted annually under the aus- and eproduct entries (and one multi-volume that books for general readers do. Actually, pices of the Professional and Scholarly Di- reference work entry this year) electronically. the problem for high-level books might be vision (PSP) of the Association of American I wind up hefting heavy cartons of books my- even worse. The quality of what I see avail- Publishers (AAP). Publishers submit books, self throughout November, much to my lanky able for free on the Internet indicates to me journals, and electronic products (eproducts) wife’s displeasure. that a substantial number of knowledgeable in some four-dozen categories, delineated not I’ve described in past columns the proce- people might rather contribute to a high-level only by discipline (ranging through science, dure for laying out multi-volume reference scientific Wikipedia article than get involved technology, medicine, law, economics, the arts works on my garage floor (man, are they heavy) with writing, or contributing to, a book for a — including coffee-table-size art exhibition and for making piles of books separated by for-profit publisher, or even for a not-for-profit books published by university and museum category on the floor of the my office (where who nevertheless charges for books. At the presses — and the humanities), but also by type it’s much warmer than my unheated garage same time, I continue to see high-level books of book. There are monographs, single and even during sunny December days in upstate written by superstars. A couple of years ago, multi-volume reference works for commercial New York, global warming notwithstanding). there was mathematician Terence Tao; this and academic audiences, plus popular science My purpose in this column isn’t to recount year, there is astronomer/physicist Priyam- and textbook categories which were separated my judging procedures. Instead, I want to vada Natarajan. Here they are, writing from professional and scholarly book catego- say a few things about what the books that books that summarize what they’ve learned, ries some years ago because, it seemed to me are shipped to me tell me about the state of instead of authoring yet more journal papers as the judge responsible for the science and science and mathematics book publishing at that set forth their new discoveries. Frankly, mathematics categories, there was no fair and both the scholarly/professional level and for I’m amazed. rigorous way to compare books for different general readers with an interest in these often It’s not all champagne and roses. One audiences. While nearly all publishers who intellectually challenging subjects. university press accustomed to sub- submit entries specialize in professional and Let me take the popular science mitting cartons of books every year scholarly materials and textbooks, a separate and mathematics category first. As I and winning multiple awards (I category, championed by PROSE Awards mentioned above, I asked that the recall seeing the press’s direc- chair John Jenkins, was introduced recently books in this category be split tor some years ago looking for trade houses. from those that were clear- contentedly at a table where Although journals are where the money is ly written for professionals, he’d lined up his press’s many for many commercial and not-for-profit pub- whether they be in industry or award plaques) decided that lishers, and the future may lie with eproducts, in academia. The popular science and the $85 fee for each entry some of them online versions of multi-vol- mathematics books that I received this would bust their budget. And ume references works and others entirely year covered a wide range of interests. a commercial publisher, also a new departures, much of the emphasis in the As usual, there are natural science major player, failed to appoint PROSE Awards is on books. One reason for titles (covering bees and fireflies this anyone to spearhead their awards this emphasis is that there are far more book year), mathematics diversions (which effort, left it up to individual edi- entries than either journal or electronic-product may require pencil and paper aids to tors, and the number of entries is entries. The main reason is there are far fewer reading comprehension), doomsday envi- significantly lower than usual. new journals in either the humanities or in ronmental laments, short books that briskly Only a fool wouldn’t acknowledge the STM than there are new books. (In addition, explain aspects of scientific methodologies, headwinds book publishing faces. Still, I wait publishers are encouraged to new editions of books with biographical hooks (this year, with great anticipation for the books to arrive books if they differ substantially from previous another in the long line of books on Turing’s every November. Some of the high-level editions.) And given the expense and exper- role in the birth of computer science and one books I eventually see strike me as unexpected tise eproducts require, as well as how few are on the women who worked on military and and unusual, while others seem more routine. considered really innovative, the relatively low civilian space programs), at least one book that Nevertheless, all of them are infused with a number of eproduct entries is to be expected. can characterized as a how-to, and, finally, a level of quality that testifies to the care and In the judging process, when it comes down totally unexpected title (How Men Age is this effort that authors and production people put to selecting winners in the five ubercatego- year’s out-of-left-field entry). I surmise that into them. Multi-volume sets and even some ries — humanities, social sciences, physical publishers continue to bet that they can sell large single volumes are particularly notewor- sciences and mathematics, biological and life such books to audiences already soaked by the thy with regard to high quality. These books, sciences, and reference works — monographs Internet information deluge (which undoubted- as well as nearly all the others I get to judge may be pitted against textbooks, journals, ly includes a plethora of fake science sites on every year, testify to the professionalism, ex- eproducts and even trade titles. (The ultimate Facebook, but that’s another matter, I suppose). pertise, and integrity of a group of publishers, winner of the RR Hawkins Award is selected Perhaps the fame of some authors — in certain many of whom are reviled for their business from among the uberwinners,) quarters, if not in the wide world — helps sales. practices on the journals side of their houses. The deadline for entries is November 1, I don’t know the sales expectations for any of As always, things are more complicated than but books can straggle into the AAP’s New the books I get to judge, nor do I have estimates what one might think at first. York City offices after that date. Kate Ko- of how many total titles in this popular science lendo, who runs the awards program, can and mathematics category were published ship a judge’s books out as they come in or with 2016 copyrights. In any case, the pile of altogether in a single shipment, depending on a books on my office floor gives me a glimmer judge’s individual preference. I’m responsible of hope that the general-book-reading public for seven physical science and mathematics will endure, at least for a while. 56 Against the Grain / December 2016 - January 2017 <http://www.against-the-grain.com>.

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