Announcing Forerunners: Ideas First


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Original e-works to spark the spread of new scholarship

Press Release Date: 2013-11-14T00:00:00


The University of Minnesota Press announces Forerunners, a thought-in-process series of breakthrough digital works written between fresh ideas and finished books and drawing on scholarly work initiated in notable blogs, social media, conference plenaries, and articles. We think of it as gray literature publishing: where intense thinking, change, and speculation happens in scholarship.

Bridging informal and formal scholarly output, Forerunners will use agile publishing tools and ebook technology to make works available quickly and widely, inviting discussion and debate. Forerunners will be available through ebook retailers, with on-demand print editions for those who prefer tactile reading experiences. Priced at $4.99 ebook, $7.95 print.

Information for Authors

Submission: We invite timely, innovative works of between 15,000 and 25,000 words, written for a broader audience of serious readers. Forerunners may be original writing or adapted from forms such as series of blog posts, articles, or conference plenaries. Initial areas of focus are digital media and game studies, higher education and scholarly communication, environment and nature, disability studies, and social thought and theory. Send editorial inquiries to fore@umn.edu.

Review and Production: Peer review and board approval will be conducted in an expedited, online process. Editorial staff joins forces with authors to develop the work and all Forerunners will receive professional copyediting and proofreading. Following submission of final text, Forerunner ebooks will be published within twelve weeks.

Contract: The Press acquires limited rights for ebook and print publication only. Forerunner authors select one of three Creative Commons licenses or may elect traditional copyright in their own name. Ebook royalties will be set at 25 percent of sales. Authors may freely disseminate their works in their teaching, on their own websites, or in institutional digital repositories. Should the Forerunner become the basis for a later full-length book, the Press offers the option of publication under a standard contract.

Promotion and Sales: Announced via online and social media promotion, Forerunners will be available through major ebook retailers and direct from the Press website. On-demand print editions can be ordered on standard retail terms by booksellers and, for course use, by college bookstores.

More about this initiative can be found on the Press blog.