Leading researchers who read what our reviewers write, and decide what we publish.
What the Board Does
The Advisory Board is the scholarly authority of the Press. No title is published without its recommendation. After a proposal has cleared external peer review, it goes to the Board with the full reviewer reports and the author's response; members representing a range of disciplines assess the proposed title for quality and for suitability, and recommend publication or decline it.
The Board is a body of working scholars from outside the publishing operation. Established university presses use the same structure.
Specifically, the Board
- Recommends titles for publication, on the evidence of the reviews and the author's response.
- Declines proposals, including proposals that have had favourable reviews, where it judges them unsuitable for the Press.
- Advises on reviewer selection, and suggests names in fields where our editors' networks are thin.
- Reviews and approves new series and the appointment of series editors.
- Keeps our editorial standards, ethics policies and review procedures under review.
- Advises on the development of the list and on the fields we should be opening up.
What the Board Does Not Do
- It has no role in the commercial or financial affairs of the Press.
- It is not told whether an author can pay the book processing charge, or from where.
- It does not carry out peer review itself; it assesses proposals in the light of independent review.
Composition and Terms
Members are appointed for renewable terms of four years, and are chosen for scholarly standing in their field, for editorial judgement, and to give the Board breadth across disciplines, career stages and regions, so that decisions are not taken by a single national academic culture. The Board meets quarterly and members are asked to read for at least two proposals per meeting.
Members declare interests on appointment and at each meeting, and recuse themselves entirely from any proposal involving a colleague, collaborator, former student or institution where they have a stake. Members are not paid; reasonable expenses are met.
Members
Board appointments for the current term are being confirmed and will be listed here in full, with affiliation, field and term of service.
Serving on the Board
We are building the Board out and are interested in hearing from researchers with a record of serious editorial work (journal editing, series editing, or sustained reviewing), particularly in fields and regions where open-access book publishing is least developed. Write to queries@bassi.foundation with a CV and a paragraph on what you would bring.