The AAR Publications Committee seeks a book editor for the Academy Series, which is sponsored by the American Academy of Religion and published in cooperation with Oxford University Press.

The Academy Series is unique among the book series. Several features distinguish the series, among them the fact that it is the only series devoted to publishing books that originate as dissertations. The AAR takes seriously its role in promoting the development of emerging talent and has set aside the Academy Series to feature the best and most original work emerging from graduate programs in religion. Since the only criteria for consideration is that a work excels in scholarship that originates as a recently defended dissertation, the range of topics eligible for Academy Series recognition is very broad and inclusive of the diversity and vitality of religious studies.

AAR Series Editors help set editorial policy, acquire manuscripts, and work with Oxford University Press in seeing manuscripts through to publication. Editors sit on the AAR Publications Committee for the duration of their term. This is a volunteer position. All applicants must be members of the American Academy of Religion.

Further information on books published in this Series can be found here. Information on the entire Oxford/AAR book series can be found here. Further information on the Publications Committee can be found here.

If you are interested in this position, please e-mail inquiries, nominations (self-nominations are encouraged), and applications (a letter describing interests and qualifications, plus a current curriculum vita) by Word or PDF attachment to Cheryl Kirk-Duggan, Publications Committee Chair, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The application deadline is April 15, 2011.

The required finalist interviews for this position will take place at the Publications Committee meeting at the 2011 Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA. The new Editor will assume office on January 1, 2012, for a five-year (renewable once) term, and is expected to attend the two meetings of the Publications Committee: at the Annual Meeting and in the Spring (either at the Oxford University Press offices in New York City or in Atlanta, GA).

What follows on the next pages are some Frequently Asked Questions pertaining to the Editor position and other vital information pertaining to the Academy Series.

What are the most exciting and rewarding dimensions of the job as well as its challenges?

The benefits include the intellectual stimulation and the challenge of working with people all over the world on topics of real and lively concern. Reading the most recent work out of graduate school helps the Editor to stay current and inspired by the developments in religious studies; but the sheer vastness and variety of topics one will encounter can also be overwhelming. It is helpful, therefore, to have a small group of Associate Editors or an informal board of your own comprised of experts in distinct fields who can help you judge a manuscript’s viability. These colleagues can help you more specifically and proactively negotiate the many disciplinary areas that constitute the academic study of religion.

Helping to shape the conversations in the field in ways that are generative and make a lasting contribution to religious studies (and the lives of individual authors) is also immensely gratifying. So too is helping people express their best thoughts and establish their careers through the publication of their first book. Authors can be very appreciative and that kind of recognition is most rewarding.

The main challenge for this position, as for most editorial positions, is encouraging peer readers to fulfill their obligations. The stakes in publishing these days are very high and authors deserve to have their work reviewed in a timely manner. But you will find readers who are very recalcitrant and whose conduct requires you to issue frequent reminders. Also, if the authors wish extensive editorial engagement, you will be pressed to set an example of a timely model as a reviewer and to balance the sheer volume of work requiring review. On occasion one will have problems handling difficult contributors whose expectations are wildly misguided. And there is always the problem of negotiating a large amount of e-mail correspondence.

How much of a time commitment does being Editor entail?

The time commitment depends on your model for the job, the personality of the author, and the shape of the manuscripts. Some arrive for publication consideration in immaculate condition, already well-revised, and setting forth a compelling argument in clear prose. Others will be raw dissertations that require a substantial amount of revision before they can be sent out to peer review. Some authors simply want the Editor to be a gatekeeper, others want you to line edit every chapter. Some want encouragement and hand-holding, others want a simple business relationship. Sometimes you’ll have a dozen manuscripts in the pipeline; other times you’ll have none. There is no consistent pattern or formula as the job is as varied and idiosyncratic as the manuscripts and authors themselves.

What logistical and financial support can I expect from the AAR and OUP?

Both the AAR and OUP are enthusiastically committed to the book series and want to support the Editors in substantive ways. There is no salary or stipend for being Editor, but there is financial support by way of travel and lodging to and from the Spring editorial meeting.

What logistical and financial support should I seek from my institution?

It will be a great opportunity for your institution that so prestigious a series is associated with its faculty and your participation is a tangible demonstration of service to the profession (which the AAR acknowledges with letters to academic officers you wish to be informed of your work). Your institution should be able to provide overhead and cover the additional travel costs to the Annual Meeting, which you are required to attend.

How many meetings a year does the Editor have to attend?

As a member of the AAR Board-appointed Publications Committee, the Editor will meet with the Committee at the Annual Meeting and also at the Publication Committee’s Spring meeting.

Two appendices follow that include information composed by the current Editor and that are available on the AAR website.

(This advice, composed for the writers, gives the Editor an idea of the effort involved in the process of editing a dissertation for publication.)

Despite this open-ended invitation of topics for Academy Series consideration, there are characteristics shared by most dissertations that require revision in order for the dissertation to be considered a book. Below are a few suggestions authors might wish to follow as they engage in the process of turning their dissertations into books and as they transform themselves from graduate students into academic professionals.

Typically dissertations are evaluated as an exercise in research, which means they must demonstrate an author’s full command of relevant literature on a particular topic. Because dissertations are written for and influenced by the contributions of an entire committee, oftentimes they bear the mark of being products of a committee; that is, works intended to satisfy each committee member’s particular perspective or area of expertise. A book, however, while it relies on competent research, blends this research into argument in subtler and less direct ways. The scholarship informs the argument but it does not subsume the argument. In a book, the author’s unique and authoritative voice must always be distinct. Several ways to achieve this distinction include:

• Eliminate excessive footnoting and/or incorporating footnoted material into the text proper. If footnoted information is indeed pertinent to advance an argument, it should be included in the body of the text for coherence and ease of reading. If the footnoted material is simply an interesting aside or additional commentary, consider its relevance and purpose to the overall design of the argument. It may be useful for another enterprise, but not necessary for the book. A book does not require you to trot out for the reader everything you have read or learned about a particular topic, only that you demonstrate your command of the knowledge represented in the sources. A book should synthesize and interpret information derived from sources, not merely present it, and do so in a way that advances an argument.
• Organize your material coherently. Dissertations often are organized by how they are researched which is not always the most illuminating way to advance an argument. In other words, some of what you needed to learn to acquire an argument or a thesis may not be relevant to the reader who simply wants to learn about your thesis. Readers do not need to know every step of the process you took to arrive at an idea. Your book should advance an argument rather than roll out data. Therefore, always keep the theme, thesis, or main argument clear and present before the reader. Do not make the reader hunt to find the thesis. Do not lose sight of your thesis and get diverted or off track. Always bring your argument back to the original notion you are advancing. In a book, unlike a dissertation, you are joining an ongoing professional, academic conversation so make sure your argument acknowledges this by not patronizing your reader and by situating your argument in a discussion that is broad enough to be of interest to the wider academic community.
• Remove any language describing a text as a dissertation. This includes setting up an argument with phrases like: “and now I will” or “as I have just said,” or “in this paper I propose to…” Make your writing more elegant in setting forth an argument rather than giving your reader signposts to what you will do or have done. Also, remove any passive voice constructions. Always write in first person, active voice. In this way you will make your authorial identity and presence clear and commanding. You will become a person behind an idea, a voice behind the words. Consider the difference in these two constructions: “You are loved by me,” and “I love you.” Who would you trust?
• Establish your authoritative and unique authorial voice. In so doing you will also be demonstrating your ability to join the conversation of your predecessors as a peer, not as a supplicant. Certainly you can admire (or criticize) the opinions of others but do so as an intellectual equal and position yourself in the tradition of a topic and among a community of professionals by announcing your own professional arrival through the strong command of your own language.
• Paraphrase more than quote. Your language and authority will be strengthened if you paraphrase more than quote from sources. Obviously some writers’ work will be so elegant and precise that a direct quotation is necessary. But continuously inserting the voice of others diminishes your own; it establishes someone other than you as the authority. Also, disciplining yourself to put someone else’s ideas into your own language rather than letting someone else speak for you insures that you more completely understand what it is your are trying to communicate.
• Be informative and illuminating, not clever. Avoid jargon or idiosyncratic terms unless you specifically define a term for your contextual usage. Also, define all your terms and do not assume everyone shares the same definition for wobbly and imprecise terms like “sacred.” Use language that is precise, but flexible, which means avoiding superlatives (such as: always, never, most) that you may not be able to completely defend.
• Write in short sentences and short paragraphs to avoid losing your train of thought or getting off topic. In writing, as in much of life, less is more.
• Remember Aristotle’s rhetoric. Rhetoric, the art of argument, is pertinent in writing a book because you are, in fact, arguing for the relevance and importance of your topic. Thus, employ the principles of Aristotle’s rhetoric: logos, ethos, and pathos. Know your stuff (logos); know yourself (ethos); and know your audience (pathos). Show you are in command of the topic. Demonstrate you have the character, ability, and trustworthiness to interpret that topic. And make your reader care about the topic and share your enthusiasm.

(This information gives an indication of the administrative work involved in editing a manuscript for the Series.)

Submissions

To be considered for the Academy Series, a dissertation must be nominated by the dissertation advisor or a member of the dissertation committee. The nominating letter should be about 500 words and explain in detail the following:

• To what measure is the dissertation technically competent?
• Why is the dissertation a genuine contribution to scholarship within its field?
• Why is the dissertation of sufficiently wide interest to be suitable for publication in book form?

The letter should also contain at least three suggestions for readers who are competent to review the work. Nominators must provide the following information for each reader:

• Complete name, address, and institutional affiliation
• Phone number
• E-mail address

Contacting potential readers is the responsibility of the Editor once the nominating faculty makes recommendations. Only dissertations defended within two years of submission are eligible for Academy Series publication.

The author should submit to the Editor the following information:

• A current curriculum vitae 
• An abstract of the dissertation (200–300 words)
• Three copies of the manuscript. These copies will not be returned

Reviews

When all these items are on file, the Academy Series Editorial Board will determine which manuscripts should be sent out for peer review. Not all submissions receive external peer review. If a manuscript is sufficiently promising, however, the Editor selects two readers to review each manuscript. A third reader may be solicited if there is insufficient consensus regarding a manuscript’s suitability for the Series. Among the questions we ask reviewers to address are:

• Does the manuscript make a truly original contribution to scholarship or creative thought within its subfield as well as within the broader field of the study of religion?
• Does the manuscript have a well-defined academic market?
• To what extent is the manuscript technically proficient and cognizant of the relevant literature within the study with which it deals?
• Is the manuscript competently written and interesting to read?
• What revisions should be made to enhance the manuscript’s publishing appeal?

With all the materials assembled, the Editor begins the process of identifying and requesting peer readers. This can happen overnight or take weeks, depending on the enthusiasm or recalcitrance of the scholars approached by the Editor. The same set of extremities may apply to the reading process. We aim to get reports within three months but it can take much longer. After the reports are in — and assuming they are positive and recommend publication — author and Editor discuss them and plan how the author will reply to the comments. There may be requests or suggestions for revision that the author will need to address as well as the author’s final stages of revision and manuscript preparation. Once the manuscript has been reviewed and accepted by the AAR and the Series Editor and after the author has composed a response to the reviewers’ reports, the Editor sends all the materials along with a recommendation and commentary to the Oxford University Press Religion Editor and final publication decisions are made in consultation with Oxford University Press (OUP). Like other stages of waiting for editorial review, this process can be slow or quick. But if the book is accepted, the author begins to work with the OUP Editor and the AAR Series Editor’s work is done. From then on, the OUP staff advises the author on final manuscript preparation details, including copyediting and publicity. The author will work with OUP — including not just the Religion Editor but support staff in other departments — to bring the process to a satisfying conclusion.

Authors who are interested in submitting their dissertations to the Series should initiate the revision process before submitting a manuscript to the Series. Authors should also expect that peer readers who evaluate their manuscripts for publication consideration might offer suggestions for revisions that authors will be expected to respond to before a manuscript is accepted for publication. Reviews of manuscripts rejected for publication are not provided.