Essential knowledge about scholarly book publishing that every author should have. Get weekly tips on writing and publishing your scholarly book from developmental editor and publishing consultant Laura Portwood-Stacer, PhD.
Why you should pay attention to new books
Published about 7 hours ago • 7 min read
The Manuscript Works Newsletter
Essential knowledge on scholarly book publishing that every author should have
Hello Manuscript Workers!
What's in this edition:
Why it's important to keep an eye on new book releases
As always, if you have a question or suggestion for a future newsletter, you can reply directly to this message. Thanks for reading!
This newsletter is coming to you from Laura Portwood-Stacer, PhD, professional developmental editor and publishing advisor. I help scholarly writers navigate the book publishing process with more ease and agency.
I hope you'll stick around for practical tips on writing and publishing your scholarly book, but if you'd like to adjust your subscription settings, you can do that at the bottom of this message.
How you benefit from paying attention to new book releases
It’s been awhile since I talked about this, so I want to share some of the reasons why I think it’s important to share new books in this newsletter.
First, and most obviously, I want to celebrate the achievements of these authors! Writing and publishing a book is one of the hardest things a person can do, so you deserve to be celebrated when it finally gets done. If I can use my platform to get eyes on your new book, I’m happy to do so.
Second, sharing new books by my readers and clients is meant to serve as social proof that it is possible to finish and publish your book. If you’re reading this newsletter, you are likely a scholarly writer yourself or you work with them. I want these new books to serve as regular inspiration that it can be done (and that my resources can help you along the way just as they have helped these authors).
Third, if you’re planning to propose a book to a publisher within the next few years, you need to be aware of comparable books on the market. My readers come from a huge variety of fields, so not every new book you see here will be a good comp for your book, but maybe you’ll happen to notice one in your field you wouldn’t have been aware of otherwise. Pay attention to who is publishing these new books and click through to explore how the publishers are presenting the books on their websites. Look at other books that have been recently released by the same press. Take note of any you might want to read or put your own book in conversation with. (And don’t panic if you see your research topic covered in a book that’s newly published. Read my blog post on “getting scooped” for some reassurance on this subject.)
Fourth, each new book you see here can be treated as a case study in book marketing. Take note of how each book is titled, what the cover design looks like, how the catalog copy is constructed. You’ll start to notice trends and norms, which may help when it comes time to work out these details for your own book. You can also take note of which features you really like and want to emulate for your own book and which you don’t think work as well. Follow presses who consistently seem to be doing a good job and start building your case for why they should publish your book too.
Keep scrolling to see several books by Manuscript Works readers and clients that have come out recently or recently received new recognition in their fields. (And if you have a forthcoming book to share in a future newsletter, shoot a message to support@manuscriptworks.com!)
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Uncovering the workings of the KidTech industry, this book explores how capitalism operates in digital spaces that are geared toward children and how this impacts children’s everyday lives.
This book foregrounds the social, cultural, and economic logics of capitalism and the historical trajectories of how children, childhood, and what it means to be a child have been shaped by these logics throughout the 20th century. This is followed by three core sections of the book, which examine present concerns. The first explores how young people are now entangled in digital capitalism as data, the second traces how children are recruited into producing digital content and—by extension—value for digital corporations, and the third explores how KidTech platforms are increasingly constructing digital spaces that isolate children from parental involvement. The book concludes by questioning the wider implications of KidTech on children’s rights and its long-term consequences.
Conventional journalistic norms discourage reporters from taking sides. They are supposed to remain neutral, impartial, and objective. Yet there is also a long tradition in journalism, dating back to the 1800s, that pursues truth by practicing solidarity for social justice.
Anita Varma offers a bold defense of reporting for social justice, showing what journalistic solidarity looks like in principle and in practice. She argues that solidarity is a longstanding yet unacknowledged journalistic norm that fosters truthful reporting when people’s basic dignity is at stake. Ethical journalism incorporates solidarity throughout the reporting process: deciding what is newsworthy, whom to include, how to approach them, what questions to ask, how to structure stories, and how to assess impact. Varma illustrates these practices through case studies of local and national reporting on homelessness, housing instability, and the cost of living.
This book examines the transnational dynamics that shape Latina affect narrative from the 1990s through the twenty-first century. Villanueva-Nievesargues that Latina narratives function as affective maps, using storytelling to chart emotional landscapes experienced differently by Mestizas, white Latinas, and Black Latinas across various historical periods and transnational territories. The analysis presented in this work demonstrates that Latina affect, as a tool for spacemaking, not only counters the dominant forces of US white supremacy but also interacts with Latin American racial ideologies, such as mestizaje and blanqueamiento.
On the evening of April 15, 2014, the Sewol ferry set sail on its overnight journey from Incheon, in northwestern South Korea, to Jeju Island, 240 miles to the south. There were 476 people on board. After receiving a distress call from a passenger onboard, Harbor Affairs at Jeju and at Jindo Island both urged the crew to prepare the passengers for evacuation. Instead, the crew instructed the passengers to stay in their cabins and wait for help. Most of the passengers heeded the instructions and died waiting for rescue.
The feelings of helplessness that many South Koreans and others felt at the sinking of the Sewol were sharpened by the ways the government mishandled the disaster, which has become the most galvanizing event in contemporary South Korean history.
Throughout this roller coaster of national disaster, public outrage, hope for change, and broken promises, an activist movement has taken shape among artists working through the medium of performance to process the disaster, commemorate its victims, and advocate for public change. Beyond the Sewol is the first book to spotlight this creative fluorescence of performative work, which spans the genres of theatre productions, exhibitions, interactive memorial events, site-specific public performances, street protests, and even commercial K-pop music videos.
Beyond the Sewol is a finalist for the Association of Theatre in Higher Education's 2026 Outstanding Book Award. Congratulations, Areum! 🎉
In the 2010s, Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) began to mobilize an international media system to project Turkey as a rising player and counter foreign criticism of its authoritarian practices. Bilge Yesil examines the AKP's English-language communication apparatus, focusing on its objectives and outcomes, the idea-generating framework that undergirds it, and the implications of its activities. She also analyzes the decolonial and pan-Islamist messages AKP-sponsored outlets deploy to position Turkey as a burgeoning great power opposed to imperialism and claiming to be the voice of oppressed Muslims around the world. As the AKP wields this rhetoric to further its geopolitical and economic goals, media outlets pursue their own objectives by obfuscating facts with identity politics, demonizing the West to aggrandize the East and rallying Muslims under Turkey's purportedly benevolent leadership.
Insightfully exploring the crossroads of communications and authoritarianism, Talking Back to the West illuminates how the Erdogan government and its media allies use history, religion, and identity to pursue complementary agendas and tighten the AKP's grip on power.
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Essential knowledge about scholarly book publishing that every author should have. Get weekly tips on writing and publishing your scholarly book from developmental editor and publishing consultant Laura Portwood-Stacer, PhD.