Many in the AUPresses community are thinking of ways to support our wider ecosystem, including independent bookstores and scholarly societies. We’ll post more information as we learn it. #ReadUP and stay as safe as you can!
Independent Bookstores
Bookstores, particularly independent local stores at the heart of their communities, are essential partners to the university press mission and are a key way many authors and readers find each other. Many university presses are encouraging staff and community to find their quarantine reading from a local favorite bookstore that may be shipping or doing curbside pick-ups, or via Indiebound or Bookshop.org. Princeton University Press compiled a list of all the bookstores that would have hosted spring readings with PUP authors. In mid-March, Yale University Press sponsored a social media giveaway of gift cards to favorite bookstores.
Scholarly Conferences
Many conferences have been canceled or postponed, where authors would have launched books, researchers would browsed publishers’ stands in exhibit halls, and scholars would have met with editors. Many presses are offering discount sale codes on the books they would have brought to a conference, supporting online sessions and panels, and sharing editorial and proposal tips on social media.
Virtual Panel Discussion
Are We Coping With COVID-19 in South Africa and Africa?: A Wits Journal of Clinical Medicine Webinar
The Wits Journal of Clinical Medicine and Wits University Press hosted a virtual panel discussion with medical experts on current management protocols and the impact of Covid-19 in South Africa and other parts of Africa. Sponsored by Sabinet, the session recording is available for viewing.