Staff Profiles

Digital publishing; the international publishing industry; book covers; economic history of publishing; publishing in China

Research group membership

• Member of Working Group 4 of the SCH COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Action IS1404 - Evolution of reading in the age of digitisation
• Convenor of international conference for publishing studies – By the Book (Florence, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)

Books

• Phillips A, Bhaskar M, Ed., The Oxford Handbook of Publishing, Oxford University Press (2019)
  ISBN: 9780198794202
  Abstract

  Publishing is one of the oldest and most influential businesses in the world. It remains an essential creative and knowledge industry, worth over $140 billion a year, which continues to shape our education and culture. Two trends make this a particularly exciting time. The first is the revolution in communications technology that has transformed what it means to publish; far from resting on their laurels and retreating into tradition, publishers are doing as they always have - staying on the cutting edge. The second is the growing body of academic work that studies publishing in its many forms. Both mean that there has never been a more important time to examine this essential practice and the current state of knowledge. The Oxford Handbook of Publishing marks the coming of age of the scholarship in publishing studies with a comprehensive exploration of current research, featuring contributions from both industry professionals and internationally renowned scholars on subjects such as copyright, corporate social responsibility, globalizing markets, and changing technology. This authoritative volume looks at the relationship of the book publishing industry with other media, and how intellectual property underpins what publishers do. It outlines the complex and risky economics of the industry and examines how marketing, publicity, and sales have become ever more central aspects of business practice, while also exploring different sectors in depth and giving full treatment to the transformational and much discussed impact of digital publishing. This Handbook is essential reading for anyone interested in publishing, literature, and the business of media, entertainment, culture, communication, and information.
  

  Website 
• Phillips A, Ed., The Cottage by the Highway and other essays on publishing, Brill (2015)
  ISBN: 978-9004283527
  
• Clark, G. and Phillips, A., Inside Book Publishing, Routledge (2014)
  ISBN: 978-0415537179 eISBN: 0415537177
  
• Phillips, A., Turning the Page, Routledge (2014)
  ISBN: 978-0415625654 eISBN: B00IKH583O
  
• Phillips A, Ed., The Future of the Academic Journal, Chandos (2014)
  ISBN: 978-1843347835 eISBN: 9781780634647
  Website 

Journal articles

• Kovac M, Phillips A, van der Weel A, Wischenbart R, 'Book statistics : What are they good for?'
  Logos 28 (4) (2017) pp.7-17
  ISSN: 0957-9656 eISSN: 1878-4712
  Abstract This paper describes the usefulness of reliable book statistics for publishers, booksellers, educators, and policymakers and outlines the main reasons why there are few such statistics. In its second part, the paper proposes indicators that would measure the role of books and book industries both in contemporary societies and in recent history, and argues for a wider debate around book statistics and the role of books and reading in society.Website 
• Phillips A, 'Have we passed peak book? The uncoupling of book sales from economic growth'
  Publishing Research Quarterly (2017)
  ISSN: 1053-8801
  Website 
• Phillips A, 'Kicking the habit? : the decline of reading in Europe'
  Logos 21 (3) (2010) pp.31-36
  ISSN: 0957-9656 eISSN: 1878-4712
  Abstract No abstract availableWebsite 
• Phillips A, 'Blog to the Future? Journals publishing in the Twenty-first century'
  Journal of Scholarly Publishing 42 (1) (2010) pp.16-30
  ISSN: 1198-9742
  Abstract A variety of current developments are creating questions over present models of publishing and scholarly communication. Will new journals continue to be launched? Will open-access developments such as subject or institutional repositories reach a tipping point at which libraries will start to cancel journal subscriptions? Is the journal article too static a mechanism, by comparison to the ways in which scholars are able to interact using blogs and wikis? Steadily emerging is a new future for the journal as part of an overall network of knowledge creation and scholarly communication. We are moving away from a world in which a few producers generate content to transmit to a set of users. Instead, the world of knowledge creation has a variety of routes. through which research can be disseminated and feedback mechanisms facilitated by a range of collaborative tools.Website 
• Phillips A, 'Does the book have a future?'
  Logos 19 (1) (2008) pp.26-33
  ISSN: 0957-9656 eISSN: 1878-4712
  Website 
• Phillips A, 'The Greek publishing industry and professional development'
  Publishing Research Quarterly 24 (2) (2008) pp.98-110
  ISSN: 1053-8801
  Abstract In the Greek publishing industry, tradition and the desire for innovation go hand in hand. The industry is influenced by European developments in publishing and bookselling in terms of book promotion methods, the role of chain bookstores and the impact of information technology. Greece shares the features of other small book markets in Europe, whilst retaining the individuality defined by the Greek language and the country" s cultural and social conditions. This article provides an overview of the publishing industry in Greece through a review of the relevant literature and the available statistics. This work also focuses on the need to develop publishing skills through publishing education and continuous professional development.Website 

Book chapters

• Phillips A, 'Literary agents' in Richard Bradford, Alison Baverstock and Madelena Gonzalez (ed.), The Companion to Publishing and Literature, Routledge (2019)
  
• Phillips A, 'Does the Book have a Future?' in Eliot S, Rose R (ed.), A Companion to the History of the Book, Wiley (2018)
  ISBN: 9781119018179
  Website 
• Phillips A, 'Changing Focus, 1973-1989: The Closure of the Printing House' in Robbins K (ed.), History of Oxford University Press, Oxford University Press (2017)
  ISBN: 9780199574797
  Abstract In Part I: The Business of a University Press. 5CWebsite 
• Phillips A, 'Trade Publishing' in Robbins K (ed.), History of Oxford University Press. Volume 4, 1970 to 2004., Oxford University Press (2017)
  ISBN: 9780199574797
  Abstract Trade publishing at Oxford University Press included those titles aimed at a broader audience, including general non-fiction, illustrated histories and encyclopedias, World’s Classics, and children’s books. Originally a separate operation of the London Business, overseas trade publishing later devolved to the branches while domestic trade titles were amalgamated into the Oxford academic lists. Trade titles involved a higher level of risk, deeper discounts to booksellers, larger author royalty payments, and investment in marketing and sales. The Press gradually minimized these risks by introducing greater oversight from the Delegates on manuscript selection, and by reducing the number of individual titles and concentrating on series. The chapter highlights the significant series and individual trade titles from across the Press, and considers the trade list both in its interaction with OUP’s wider academic and scholarly interests and within the context of commercial trade publishing.Website 
• Phillips A, 'The pleasure and pain of reading' in Culture report progress Europe. Europe reads - literature in Europe., Institut far Auslandsbeziehungen (2010)
  ISBN: 978-3-021970
  Abstract Eight years ago, every third German read a book regularly ' now it's only one in four. In 2005, a British study found that 27 percent of Britons had never read a book and a further seven percent only ever read a book on holidays. How are reading habits changing across Europe?Website 

Other publications

• Phillips A, 'Trends and transformations in Western book markets'
  (2015) Website