Editors in British Academic Book Publishing

The commissioning (or acquisitions) editor is an important figure in academic book publishing, yet they have been largely overlooked by researchers in the publishing studies field. Existing studies depict editors as privileged gatekeepers or entrepreneurs, holding significant power over what does, or does not, make it into print. Drawing on qualitative interviews with seventeen commissioning editors from various commercial publishers and university presses in Britain, this article examines how contemporary editors perceive the nature of their work. It discusses topics such as editorial intervention, author relations, and the pervasiveness of managerial controls, and it suggests that the editor’s authority and autonomy is more ambiguous and contingent than previously thought.