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
  
• Phillips A, Ed., The Future of the Academic Journal, Chandos (2014)
  ISBN: 978-1843347835 eISBN: 9781780634647
  Website 
• Phillips, A., Turning the Page, Routledge (2014)
  ISBN: 978-0415625654 eISBN: B00IKH583O
  
• Clark, G. and Phillips, A., Inside Book Publishing, Routledge (2014)
  ISBN: 978-0415537179 eISBN: 0415537177
  

Journal articles

• Kovač M, Phillips A, van der Weel A, Wischenbart R, 'What is a Book?'
  Publishing Research Quarterly 35 (3) (2019) pp.313-326
  ISSN: 1053-8801 eISSN: 1936-4792
  Abstract

  The aim of this paper is to reach a level of conceptual clarity about what we call a book. The motivation for this exercise lies in the desire to chart the trajectory of the book as a cultural phenomenon in light of the gradual move to shorter textual expression that is taking place alongside the delivery of stories in other forms besides text. For this purpose the article takes a historical perspective without, however, attempting to chart all the phases in the development of the book. Concurrently with the move to shorter textual expression, in the digital reading environment the basic elements of the 1964 UNESCO definition of the book (printed, a minimum number of pages) have had to be left behind. Alongside the arrival of new publishing business models, the entire notion of the book is in jeopardy. This set of developments calls for a fundamental reconsideration of how we define a book in relation to other book-like objects and text forms. The approach taken is iterative, moving closer towards a definition of the book whilst acknowledging the arrival of offspring such as the ebook and audiobook.
  

  Website 
• 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 eISSN: 1936-4792
  Website 
• 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, '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, '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 
• Phillips A, 'Does the book have a future?'
  Logos 19 (1) (2008) pp.26-33
  ISSN: 0957-9656 eISSN: 1878-4712
  Website 

Book chapters

• Phillips A, 'The Modern Literary Agent' in Richard Bradford, Alison Baverstock and Madelena Gonzalez (ed.), Contemporary Publishing and the Culture of Books, Routledge (2020)
  ISBN: 9780415750226 eISBN: 9781315778389
  Abstract

  The literary agent is prominent in trade book publishing in the UK and the US, whilst the role is rarer in other publishing markets, such as in continental Europe. What started as an intermediary between the author and publisher has developed into a much broader function, acting on behalf of the author, with elements of
  business, editorial and marketing. The agent is a key gatekeeper into the mainstream publishing world for authors, especially in the area of fiction. Literary agents champion authors, offer them invaluable support and advice, and may be the single point of continuity throughout their writing career. There are significant challenges to the established media gatekeepers: authors may find an audience through social media, podcasting, fan fiction, or self-publication in e-book form. Yet there remains the cachet of publishing with
  an established publishing house, plus the publisher has access to high street retail for the print edition. Agents carry out a valuable function for publishers, acting as a filter for new authors and projects, and undertaking considerable editorial work. As diversity has become such a live issue in contemporary publishing, questions arise as to how the agent’s gatekeeping role is exercised. Possible threats to
  the role of the agent come not only from self-publishing but also from the continuing consolidation among publishing companies, publishers dealing directly with authors, and the erosion of authors’ incomes.
  

  Website 
• Phillips A, 'Does the Book have a Future?' in Eliot S, Rose R (ed.), A Companion to the History of the Book, Wiley (2019)
  ISBN: 9781119018179 eISBN: 9781119018193
  Abstract

  Advances in technology have produced a range of devices on which a book can be read, from an e‐book reader to a tablet or phone. E‐books have the advantages that a reader can take a sizeable selection when traveling, read backlit text, and enlarge the type size to suit. The book exists in both printed and digital form, as p‐book and e‐book. Digital technology has also revolutionized the production of printed books. Digital printing, as opposed to traditional offset printing, enables genuine print on demand as well as short runs. This facility has less relevance to the world of mass‐market paperbacks, where large print runs mean that the benefits of offset printing still apply, but it is of great interest to most publishers and those who want to self‐publish. In fact, more books are published than ever before, and there has been a boom in self‐publishing.
  

  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