Are you an author thinking about publishing a book with a university press? Are you a subject-matter expert who has been asked to provide a peer review for a scholarly book publisher? We invite you to join us for a panel focusing on peer review to learn more about this important process and what to expect as you participate in it.

In this panel, acquisitions editors at the University Press of Florida will discuss the peer review process for both general interest and scholarly books from the perspective of the author and the peer reviewer. Looking at the questions that are typically asked during peer review, the editors describe the type of feedback they hope to receive from reviewers. Prospective authors will learn what the peer review process looks like, including how editors select peer reviewers, the timeline for peer review, and what they can expect from the reviews. Acquiring editors will explain how they approach these peer reviews and use them to offer guidance to authors in developing their manuscripts. Emphasizing the critical role of peer review in scholarly publishing, the editors will discuss the ethics and best practices of peer review as well as current challenges.

• Welcomed Allyson L. Watson, provost at FAMU, as chair of the University Press of Florida faculty editorial board. Jordan Von Cannon and Denise Bossy joined as board members representing FGCU and UNF respectively.
• Welcomed Ruth L. Steiner as chair of the UF Press faculty editorial board. Emily Hind, Heather Vrana, and Jason von Meding joined as board members.
• Established a new book series, “Critical Geographies of Latin America and the Caribbean,” in partnership with the Conference of Latin American Geography.
• Welcomed Neill J. Wallis, Charles R. Cobb, and Kitty F. Emery as coeditors for the “Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen” book series.
• Welcomed Marin Pilloud as coeditor for the book series “Bioarchaeological Interpretations of the Human Past: Local, Regional, and Global Perspectives.”
• Welcomed Gabriele Belletti as editor of the journal Delos: A Journal of Translation and World Literature.
• Welcomed Megan Perry as co-editor-in-chief of the journal Bioarchaeology International.
• Celebrated two stories from Subtropics: The Literary Journal of the University of Florida being chosen as 2024 O’Henry Prize winners.
• Began participating in JSTOR’s open access pilot program Path to Open with 10 books in the program to date.
• Produced accessible eBooks in house for the first time using the Scribe Well-Formed Document Workflow platform.
• Added Threads to the Press’s social media platforms (connect with us there!).
• Created a new podcast in partnership with the New Books Network: The Florida Press Podcast.
• Licensed 15 titles for audiobook formats.
• Signed 78 future book projects, with an increase in the number of general interest books signed.
• Received $41,500 in funding for individual book projects, including $15,000 from author institutions to offset editing, production, and manufacturing costs.

Dear Reader,

Books build community through inspiration, motivation, and elucidation. They connect ideas from one corner of the world to another. They help us remember the past and envision a better future. I am continuously amazed by the colossal responsibility of an object so slight it fits in my hands.

Recently, I attended the grand opening of The Lynx bookstore. The outpouring of support and enthusiasm, the throng of people wrapped around the building waiting to get in, was impressive. While I was there to buy books and to support the store and authors who would be reading throughout the day, I was also there as part of a panel to discuss the work of university presses and how they connect to their communities.

I had the honor of being joined on this panel by Jack Davis, author of many books, including The Gulf: The Making of An American Sea, which won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for History, and Cynthia Barnett, an environmental journalist and the UF faculty representative on the University Press of Florida editorial board. Like Jack, Cynthia is the author of many books, including The Sound of the Sea: Seashells and the Fate of the Oceans, which was named one of the top science books of 2021 by NPR’s Science Friday.

Both Jack and Cynthia have worked with large commercial publishers based in New York City, but they have also worked in various capacities with university presses in towns like Gainesville, FL, or Athens, GA. I asked Cynthia if anything had surprised her about working with a university press. She said what she appreciated most was “the layers of care” she witnessed at the editorial board meetings.

Those brief words perfectly encapsulate what the Press strives to accomplish with every book we publish—and what I think every university press strives to accomplish. This care is reflected in how acquisitions editors guide authors through initial query, the submission process, and the stage of peer review to the care they take with the manuscript itself, finding the best peer reviewer for the topic, working with the author to make their manuscript the best it can be, and championing that work once the manuscript is complete.

And there are the layers of accountability that faculty board members bring to the lengthy process. Beyond those layers are the strata of dedicated production editors, copy editors, type-setters, designers, proofreaders, indexers, book printers—all brought together to contribute to the creation of this carefully crafted package of words and images. And beyond them is another layer of attentive marketers, who carry that final package, the published book, across the finish line, into bookstores, into the hands of readers, ensuring it reaches its audience and its community.

Months later, I still think about Cynthia’s words. Together, all these layers of care demonstrate a deep commitment to the power of ideas, of research, of creative endeavors to bring us together, to connect us as communities—whether they are academic communities of scholars spread far and wide or communities of readers that share a love of places, people, art, and culture close to home.

You, too, can be part of those layers of care. Maybe reading this newsletter has given you fresh inspiration to visit your local bookstore and pick up a book that helps connect you to a larger community, wherever that might be. Maybe you are a prospective author with a book idea that fits what one of our acquisitions editors is looking for and you decide to send the editor an email. Or maybe you are interested in making a gift to support the work we do. You can make a general contribution that will go towards items such as our paid student internship program and the publication of works by first-time authors. You can also email me to discuss other possibilities such as sustaining a book series or subject area, creating a long-term student fellowship position, and more.

Thank you for your involvement with the Press and for being a part of our communities.

Sincerely,

Romi Gutierrez
Director, University Press of Florida and UF Press

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