Ashgate: New Hispanisms

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Presents innovative studies that seek to understand how the cultural production of the Hispanic world is generated, disseminated, and consumed. Ranging from the Spanish Middle Ages to modern Spain and Latin America, this series offers a forum for various critical and disciplinary approaches to cultural texts, including literature and other artifacts of Hispanic culture. Queries and proposals for single author volumes and collections of original essays are welcome.

http://www.ashgate.com/newhispanisms


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Comments (5)

  1. They send out only one chapter for evaluation. They may not charge the author to publish, but the hidden cost is that each copy sells for over $80, which means that the book will have little chance of visibility or impact. The author must provide camera-ready copy.

    I wouldn’t send anything there except as a second-to-last-resort (before trying Peter Lang). However, I know a few scholars who have, and they did earn tenure at second-tier universities.

  2. We would like to correct some errors of fact in the anonymous comment made about one of our recent series, New Hispanisms: Cultural and Literary Studies, of which Anne is general editor. Evaluation is not made on a single chapter. A contract offer may be made on the basis of a full book outline and sample chapter where the proposal material presented is particularly strong, but publication of the completed chapter will not proceed without peer review of the full typescript. Ashgate does not require or indeed accept author-generated camera-ready copy. All editorial and typesetting work is done in-house by staff based in their UK and US offices.

    Ashgate authors teach at some of the most renowned universities across the globe, including Yale, Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge. They are often generous in their expressions of satisfaction with their experience of publishing with Ashgate, as evinced in the comments section of the press’ website: http://www.ashgate.com/default.aspx?page=3925. We cordially invite the anonymous commentator to visit our US or UK offices to experience our publishing practices first-hand.

    Anne J. Cruz (General Editor, New Hispanisms) and Rachel Lynch (Ashgate Managing Director)

  3. We base these comments on our experiences. I saw a contract from Ashgate about two years ago. I read it as part of an evaluation of scholarship. I remember distinctly that the contract had been issued after one chapter and a synopsis had been sent to a reader. Another clause, if memory serves, mentioned camera-ready copy in conjunction with the author’s responsibilities. Perhaps the current editors who have responded to my comment above have changed this procedure.

    Readers come to this page for information that may help them advance their careers. It would be misleading to say that scholars have achieved tenure or promotion at Yale, Harvard, Oxford or Cambridge with reliance on a book published by Ashgate. As my comment states, some scholars have indeed advanced their careers with an Ashgate book, but not at top universities. Ivy-Leaguers may publish with Ashgate when the pressure is off. The reasons have much to do with the prohibitive pricing of books from a publisher whose name does not guarantee clout. Oxford and Cambridge can charge high prices and libraries and some scholars will purchase their books because of their reputations. However, Ashgate pricing combined with the lack of marketing (I’ve never seen an ad other than on their own website) means low visibility. That places this press on a less desirable level for those who wish to build their careers. I think that there would be no “error in fact” in estimating that Ashgate is more desirable than Peter Lang, about equal to or slightly better than Juan de la Cuesta and Mellen, slightly below Palgrave and St. Martin’s, and not comparable to any of the presses with a true “university” in their name. If Ashgate books start to get reviewed in good journals and get advertised as well, and if the prices become more reasonable, this could all change for the better.

    • I recently published (with 2 co-editors) a collected volume entitled Medical Cultures of the Early Modern Spanish Empire with Ashgate. My experience was extremely positive. I did not have to provide camera-ready copy and they sent out the entire ms for review. Yes, the book is expensive. And I had to handle indexing myself. But there were no surprises or delays and I’m very happy with how everything turned out. Everyone I worked with was very professional, as well as clear about what they were going to do and what I needed to do. I wouldn’t hesitate to publish with them again.

      • I am glad that your book turned out well, John. Your book, as well as several others in the series, looks very interesting and I plan to read it soon. Ashgate has gone out of business (bought out by a different kind of publisher). Scholars who had books “in press” with them were in limbo for several years.

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