Innovation and impact in open-access publishing – with Frances Pinter

06/07/24 • 29 min

Open-access publishing models are so ubiquitous today that we forget they had to be invented first – by bold, generous publishers.

In this episode, Arthur talks to one of those inventors: Frances Pinter has been pioneering for decades, running her own academic publishing company for over twenty years, and then leading publishing programmes in Eastern Europe for the Open Society Institute. She’s been the founding publisher at Bloomsbury Academic, the CEO of Manchester University Press, a fellow at the LSE and the University of London, and founded the groundbreaking organisation Knowledge Unlatched. Today, she’s the Executive Chair of the Central European University Press.

Frances and Arthur talk about Knowledge Unlatched, her work in Eastern Europe, maintaining quality in publishing, the impact of open-access publishing on COVID research, and what it takes to start a new publishing business today.

Links from the show:

Open-access publishing models are so ubiquitous today that we forget they had to be invented first – by bold, generous publishers.

Links from the show:

Previous Episode

Making infographic books with love – with Andrés Barragán

There are so many interesting people in book-making; people who cross boundaries and live for the thrill of making art with other people. People like Andrés Barragán: rock guitarist, engineer, writer, agent, and founder of Colombian publishing company Puntoaparte Editores.

For nearly 20 years, Andrés has been creating beautiful, infographic books for many of the world’s leading brands and organisations, winning multiple awards, and publishing his own books too. Before starting Puntoaparte, he was the lead guitarist for the influential hardcore band Ultrageno, and studied literature and industrial engineering. He has co-founded a literary agency, and is the author of Biblioperrito, a children’s book about a dog who loves books.

In this in-depth conversation, Andrés talks about his journey from musician to publisher, how his team makes infographic books, and what is changing about the way books are written and distributed.

Links from the show:

Next Episode

What is an agent and how do I get one? – with Aoife Lennon-Ritchie

Good agents are the fairy grandparents of page and screen. They get writers; and they get writers paid.

Most jobs in publishing are done by humans flying solo – writers and freelancers working from home, running their own show. That can be lonely work. Especially as a writer, it's just not possible, on your own, to know everything and everyone you need to know to turn your talent into a viable business. For that, most writers need an agent. What does an agent do? And how do you get one?

Aoife Lennon-Ritchie is the founder of the Lennon-Ritchie Agency, which works in commercial book publishing, and the managing director of Torchwood, which represents writers in film and TV. She joins Arthur to talk about being and getting an agent, negotiating contracts, and writing for TV and film.

Links from the show:

The Lennon-Ritchie Agency
Torchwood Literary & Scouting Agency
Screen Daily article about the launch of Torchwood.
Publisher’s Weekly article on the 2022 Sharjah Book Fair, quoting Aoife.
Sharjah International Book Fair
‘Behind the Scenes: African Filmmakers and Writers on Interplay and Adaptation’ – a panel discussion including Aoife.

How Books Are Made - Innovation and impact in open-access publishing – with Frances Pinter

Transcript

Arthur Attwell00:00:03.759

Hello, and welcome to How Books Are Made, a podcast about the art and science of making books. I'm Arthur Attwell. 15 years ago, I had a grand idea to make books cheaper and more accessible. I'd realised that every photocopy shop could print books if we'd only let them. Not beautiful books, but perfectly functional ones. And those copy shops were everywhere. I bet you can think of a photocopy shop you could walk to right now. They could be p