Events

Engage, learn, and collaborate at the forefront of academic publishing

Upcoming events

Time Tracking, Estimating, and Scoping Projects - Torn paper with the word "estimate"

Time Tracking, Estimating, and Scoping Projects

August 26, 2026

Part of the Ideas on Fire Editorial Professional Development Series

Speakers:

Build confidence in estimating complex projects, setting realistic timelines, and using past data to forecast future workload.

Leading an Interdisciplinary Journal - Stack of journal issues against a blue background

Leading an Interdisciplinary Journal

September 22, 2026

12:00 – 1:00 pm Eastern

Registration link coming soon!

Part of the Ideas on Fire Publishing Series

Speakers:

Discover the challenges and opportunities of editing interdisciplinary journals, from peer review and workflow management to audience and community building.

Managing Figures in Scholarly Work - Art in frames hung on a wall under a light

Managing Figures in Scholarly Work

September 8, 2026

Part of the Ideas on Fire Editorial Professional Development Series

Speakers:

Develop strategies for managing figures, including checking for consistency, ensuring accessibility, aligning captions and references, handling permissions, and formatting index entries.

Understanding Book Contracts, Royalties, and Rights - Person reads a contact before signing

Understanding Book Contracts, Royalties, and Rights

October 2026

Registration link coming soon!

Part of the Ideas on Fire Publishing Series

Speakers:

Understand the key terms of scholarly book contracts, including royalties, subsidiary rights, permissions, and publishing obligations.

Speculative Storytelling for Scholars - 2 planets and 2 moons in space with sunlight behind them

Speculative Storytelling for Scholars: A Hands-on Workshop

October 27, 2026

Registration link coming soon!

Speakers:

Explore how speculative fiction can strengthen your scholarly writing. Through hands-on activities and discussion, learn how speculative methods can inspire more imaginative, powerful interdisciplinary books.

Limited to 15 participants.

Collaborating Across the Editorial–Indexing Handoff - Relay runners hand off the baton

Collaborating Across the Editorial–Indexing Handoff

October 6, 2026

Part of the Ideas on Fire Editorial Professional Development Series

Speakers:

Improve the editorial–indexing handoff, including what information should move between the two stages, how to flag issues that impact both, and how to handle late-stage author changes that affect the index.

Writing a Crossover Scholarly Book - Bookstore with sections for African history, Asian history, and others

Writing a Crossover Scholarly Book

November 10, 2026

12:00 – 1:00 pm Eastern

Registration link coming soon!

Part of the Ideas on Fire Publishing Series

Speakers:

Discover what makes crossover scholarly books successful, from audience and accessibility to positioning, evaluation, and marketing in scholarly publishing.

New and Favorite Editing/Indexing Tools - Tools on a wood work surface

New and Favorite Editing/Indexing Tools

November 17, 2026

Part of the Ideas on Fire Editorial Professional Development Series

Speakers:

Discover new editing and indexing tools, including new macros that speed up cleanup, project management apps to keep you on track, and analog solutions to organize your business.

Goal Setting for 2027 - Red and white bullseye with arrow in middle

Editorial Goal Setting for 2027

December 8, 2026

Part of the Ideas on Fire Editorial Professional Development Series

Speakers:

Celebrate your 2026 editorial successes and set strategic goals for 2027 professional growth.

The Problem of Fit in Scholarly Publishing - White puzzle pieces on a coral background

The Problem of Fit in Scholarly Publishing

February 9, 2027

12:00 – 1:00 pm Eastern

Registration link coming soon!

Part of the Ideas on Fire Publishing Series

Speakers:

Learn how acquisitions editors, journal editors, and series editors evaluate fit for interdisciplinary scholarship, from audience and positioning to peer review and publishing decisions.

Why an Interdisciplinary Book Needs and Interdisciplinary Index - Letters A and Z beside a plant

How a Great Index Helps Your Book

March 2027

Registration link coming soon!

Part of the Ideas on Fire Publishing Series

Speakers:

Learn how scholarly book indexing improves discoverability, accessibility, and readership, and what authors should know about the indexing process.

The Role of Design in Scholarly Publishing - Desktop computer with design files open, with colored pencils, color wheel, and art materials on the desk

The Role of Design in Scholarly Publishing

April 6, 2027

12:00 – 1:00 pm Eastern

Registration link coming soon!

Part of the Ideas on Fire Publishing Series

Speakers:

Discover the role of typography, layout, covers, and digital design in making scholarly research more accessible and impactful.

Past events

2026 events

Working Productively with an Editorial Team

Crafting a Successful First Book Proposal

  • January 30, 2026
  • Presented by Cathy Hannabach
  • Center for Advanced Research in Global Communication, University of Pennsylvania

Macro-Level Cohesion for Edited Collections

Developmental Editing for Anthropologists

  • February 5, 2026
  • Presented by Cathy Hannabach
  • Community of Writing Fellows, Society for the Anthropology of Work and the Anthropology of Work Review

Navigating Peer Review on Your First Book

Editorial Business System Backups and Redundancies

Publishing in a Series for Your First Book

WTF Is Word Doing?!

Stream Decks in Editorial Workflows

Ink Under Siege: How Scholars and Editors Are Keeping Critical Work in Print

  • April 11, 2026
  • Speakers: M. Gabriela Torres (Feminist Anthropology), Alyssa Napier (Columbia University Press), Naja Pulliam Collins (University of California Press), Suzanna Walters (Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society), and Cathy Hannabach
  • SPARK's Future World Changers in the Academy conference

Marketing Your First Book

Getting Paid through US University Vendor Systems

Editing and Indexing for Multilingual Authors

Writing and Publishing an Interdisciplinary Book

New and Favorite Editing/Indexing Resources

When to Query vs. When to Fix

 

2025 events

Editorial Project Management Tools

Recent Trends in Scholarly Publishing

AI and Academic Editing

Supporting Authors with Underdeveloped Manuscripts

Macros for Copyediting

Professional Growth for Mid-Career and Senior Editors and Indexers

Creating Style Sheets That Work

Finding the Right Publisher for Your First Book

Ensuring Legibility in Interdisciplinary Texts

Crafting a Winning First Book Proposal

Academic Editing and Indexing Tools

Editorial Goal Setting for 2026

 

2024 events

Editing and Indexing Cross-Training

Crafting a Successful Academic Book Proposal

  • February 14, 2024
  • Presented by Cathy Hannabach
  • Center for Advanced Research in Global Communication, University of Pennsylvania

Exploring Indexing Workflows

Editing Crossover and Trade Books by Scholarly Authors

Writing Dissertation-to-Book Manuscript Reviews

Academic Editing and Indexing Tools

Working with (Not Against) an Author’s Voice

Getting the Most Out of Conference Travel

Editing Interdisciplinary Scholarly Book Proposals

What’s New in CMOS 18

Writing Retreat for Arts Research with Communities of Color Fellows

  • October 15–18, 2024
  • Designed by Cathy Hannabach
  • New Orleans, LA
  • Hosted by the Social Science Research Council

Editorial Goal Setting for 2025

Optimizing Index Cross References and Double Postings

 

2023 events

Writing Editorial Reports and Manuscript Reviews

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation for Editors and Indexers

Planning a Successful Non-Academic Job Search

  • March 25, 2023
  • Presented by Cathy Hannabach
  • University of Colorado, Boulder

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation for Editors and Indexers

  • April 28, 2023
  • Presented by Cathy Hannabach
  • Editors Canada/Editorial Freelancers Association Academic Editing chapter

Planning a Successful Non-Academic Job Search

Onboarding and Offboarding Client Projects

Navigating US University Vendor Systems

Mentoring for Academic Editors

Are Editorial Agencies Right for You?

  • August 17, 2023
  • Presented by Cynthia Williams and Cathy Hannabach
  • Editorial Freelancers Association conference, Alexandria, VA

Editing as Worldmaking: Critical Generosity in Editorial Practice

Low Tech, High Tech, and Mixed Tech for Editors

Feminist Futures of Peer Review

Fall Refresh: Copyediting Scholarly Manuscripts

Developmentally Editing Interdisciplinary Academic Book Proposals

Editorial Self-Assessment: Reflecting at Year's End

 

2022 events

Reference Editing Tricks

Introduction to Editing Macros

Publishing Your Book During a Global Pandemic

  • March 25, 2022
  • Presented by Cathy Hannabach
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Ergonomincs for Editors and Indexers

Juggling Multiple Editorial Projects and Schedules

Getting the Most Out of Editorial Project Management Tools

Copyediting AAA Journals

Introduction to Interdisciplinary Indexing

Freelancing While Parenting

Writing a Successful First Book Proposal

  • December 8, 2022
  • Presented by Cathy Hannabach
  • Center for Advanced Research in Global Communication, University of Pennsylvania

 

2021 events

Podcasting for Academia

  • March 10–April 28, 2021
  • Podcast instruction and assessment by Cathy Hannabach
  • CEU GmbH–CEU Central European University

Editing Scholarship for Your Colleagues and Yourself

     

    2020 events

    Taking Your Scholarship Public

    • September 29, 2020
    • Plenary by Cathy Hannabach
    • Publication Development Forum

     

    2019 events

    Academic Politics for New and Contingent Faculty

    • February 4, 2019
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s  Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Making Career Decisions in an Era of Uncertainty

    • March 4, 2019
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s  Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    A Farewell to Ibid.: Editing Footnotes

    • March 28, 2019
    • Presented by Sarah Grey and Cathy Hannabach
    • ACES Society for Editing conference, Providence, RI

    Surviving Job Burnout in the Academy and Beyond

    • April 9, 2019
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s  Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Doing Meaningful Community-Engaged Scholarship and Teaching  

    • June 4, 2019
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s  Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Your Public Voice Workshop

    • July 8–31, 2019
    • Partnership with Dismantle Magazine

    Moving to a New City (Again) and Settling In

    • July 9, 2019
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s  Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Writing a Student-Centered Syllabus that Saves You Time

    • August 6, 2019
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s  Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Tips for Teaching toward Inclusive Excellence

    • October 1, 2019
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s  Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    How to Say No and Yes to Academic Service Requests

    • November 5, 2019
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s  Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Managing the End-of-Semester Crunch with Energy to Spare

    • December 3, 2019
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s  Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

     

    2018 events

    Getting the Most out of Writing Groups

    • January 4, 2018
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s  Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Wellness for Academics and Other Cultural Workers

    • January 8, 2019
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s  Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Setting Your Writing Routine

    • February 5, 2018
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s  Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Beating the Mid-Semester Slump

    • March 5, 2018
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s  Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Using Side Gigs to Explore Career Options

    • April 9, 2018
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s  Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Publishing Your First Book

    Writing for Research

    Breaking into Academic Editing

    • April 26, 2018
    • Presented by Sarah Grey and Cathy Hannabach
    • ACES Society for Editing conference, Chicago, IL

    Planning Your Interdisciplinary Job Search

    Resisting Academic Busyness and Taking Weekends Off

    • May 6, 2019
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s  Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Deciding Whether to Finish Your PhD

    • May 7, 2017
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s  Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Your Interdisciplinary Writing Superpower

    • May 12, 2018
    • Presented by Cathy Hannabach
    • Nam Center for Korean Studies, University of Michigan

    Cultural Studies Careers Workshop: Academic Editing

    • May 31, 2018
    • Presented by Cathy Hannabach
    • Cultural Studies Association conference, Pittsburgh, PA

    Setting Summer Writing Goals

    • June 5, 2018
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s  Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Moving Tips for Academics

    • July 3, 2018
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s  Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Finding and Seizing Career Opportunities

    • August 7, 2018
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s  Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    How to Get Re-inspired by an Old Project

    • September 4, 2018
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s  Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Teaching Techniques to Save You Time and Energy

    • October 9, 2019
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s  Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Social Media for Academics

    • November 3, 2018
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s  Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Navigating Imposter Syndrome in Academia

    • December 4, 2018
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s  Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

     

    2017 events

    Mapping Your Spring Semester

    • January 11, 2017
    • Presented by Cathy Hannabach
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Work/Life Balance in the Context of Power

    • January 30, 2017
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Early Dissertation Planning

    • February 24, 2017
    • Presented by Terry K. Park
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Writing a Successful Academic Book Proposal

    • February 27, 2017
    • Presented by Cathy Hannabach
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Public Pedagogy

    • March 8, 2017
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Working Well with Dissertation Committees and Advisors

    • March 21, 2017
    • Presented by Cathy Hannabach
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    How to Organize Your Dissertation Chapters

    • April 5, 2017
    • Presented by Cathy Hannabach
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Crafting Your Postac/Altac Career while in Grad School

    • April 25, 2017
    • Presented by Alexandra Sastre, Jenn Polk, and Cathy Hannabach
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Public Speaking for Academics and Other Non-Performers

    • May 11, 2017
    • Presented by Terry K. Park
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Podcasting and Public Intellectualism

    • May 25, 2017
    • Presented by Cathy Hannabach
    • Cultural Studies Association conference, Washington, DC

    Cultural Studies Careers Workshop: Academic Editing

    • May 27, 2017
    • Presented by Cathy Hannabach
    • Cultural Studies Association conference, Washington, DC

    Staying Motivated over the Summer

    • May 31, 2017
    • Presented by Cathy Hannabach
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Writing for Non-Academic Audiences

    • June 13, 2017
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Art and Community-Based Research

    • June 21, 2017
    • Presented by Aymar Jean Escoffery
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Writing Syllabi That Work

    • July 5, 2017
    • Presented by Cathy Hannabach
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Rock Your First Semester of Grad School

    • September 6, 2017
    • Presented by Cathy Hannabach
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Working Productively with an Editor

    • September 22, 2017
    • Presented by Sarah Grey and Cathy Hannabach
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Using Your Dissertation to Build a Non-Academic Career

    • September 26, 2017
    • Presented by Cathy Hannabach
    • Beyond the Professoriate

    Podcasting as Public Intellectualism

    • October 11, 2017
    • Presented by Cathy Hannabach
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Building Your Professional Community

    • October 24, 2017
    • Presented by Cathy Hannabach
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Revising Seminar Papers into Publications

    • November 2, 2017
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Turning Your Dissertation into a Book

    • November 14, 2017
    • Presented by Cathy Hannabach
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Dealing with Rejection in Academia

    • December 5, 2017
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

    Money Management for Graduate Students

    • December 19, 2017
    • Presented by Kate Drabinski
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

     

    2016 events

    Rock Your Semester: Writing and Publishing

    Freelancing and Editorial Entrepreneurship

    • May 7, 2016
    • Presented by Cathy Hannabach (panelist)
    • Beyond the Professoriate

    Make It Work: Doing Cultural Studies Beyond the Academy

    • June 2, 2016
    • Speakers: Sarah Rebolloso McCullough, Terry K. Park, and Cathy Hannabach
    • Cultural Studies Association conference, Philadelphia, PA

    Self-Care at the End of the Semester

    • December 7, 2016
    • Presented by Julia Jordan-Zachery
    • Part of Ideas on Fire’s Grad Interdisciplinary Scholarship Series

     

    2015 events

    Thrive Like Cult Studs: Cultural Studies Beyond the Academy

    Road Maps and Writing Routines

    • October 6, 2015
    • Presented by Cathy Hannabach
    • University of California, Berkeley
    •  

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