Join us for a Virtual Pre-Meeting Training Session as part of the Annual Meeting!

Do you have questions about Society and Association Publishing? We have answers!

Join us for a Virtual Pre-Meeting Training Session as part of the 44th Annual Meeting program, on June 1, 8:30 am – 3:30 pm CT.

Membership and Mission: An Introduction to Society and Association Publishing

This premeeting training seminar will provide attendees with a broad overview of society and association publishing, giving them the “quick start” they need to grasp the mission and role of these publishers and their challenges and goals within the broader context of the academic ecosystem. The session program is composed of several “modules” covering the major facets of society and association publishing:

Welcome: What Is Society Publishing?

• • Janine Chiappa McKenna, American Anthropological Association
  • Robert Harington, American Mathematical Society

Engaging and Growing Membership

• • Anna Jester, eJournal Press
  • Tricia Miller, Annual Reviews

Working with Partners

• • Mercedes Simoncelli, Wolters Kluwer
  • Swapna Padhye, Wiley
  • Nate Smith, American Accounting Association

Publishing Models and Open Access

• • Angela Cochran, ASCO
  • Willa Liburd Tavernier, Indiana University Libraries
  • Matt Giampoala, AGU

Business Models

• • Vida Damijonaitis, JAMA
  • Chelsea Tharp, BioOne

Books and Other Non-Journal Publications

• • Simone Taylor, AIP Publishing
  • Barrett Winston, American Academy of Pediatrics

Toward More Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Societies and Associations

• • Randy Townsend, PLOS
  • Patricia Baskin, Executive Editor, American Academy of Neurology

Featuring speakers from a broad range of societies, the program has been designed especially for earlier- to mid-career professionals currently working in scholarly publishing and hoping to gain a more rounded perspective on the society and association publishing environment. It will also be useful to partners and service providers wishing to enhance their understanding of the critical role that societies and associations play within their disciplines and within scholarly communications more broadly.

Session Co-Organizer, Jeffrey Mahoney of the American Academy of Pediatrics, answered our questions to give you a preview:

Tell us a bit about the intended audience – who would benefit from attending?

The target audience is early-to-mid-career professionals, and it will be such a valuable day for that audience. Think of it as an engaging overview of society publishing with some of the most knowledgeable professionals in the industry. Most society publishing professionals wind up in this career path by happenstance, and it’s so helpful to hear about society publishing through the large number of lenses in this training session (more than 15 speakers!). The session will also be valuable for those already deep into their careers. Each society publisher has their own unique “story” and path, and I find it very valuable to see and hear about different society publishers’ activities so I don’t wind up thinking that “our way” is the only way. (In fact, that’s why I love SSP so much; getting that exposure to all the exciting innovations within the industry.)

What can attendees expect to take away with them from this workshop?

This session will deepen attendees’ understanding of the society publishing ecosystem from practically every angle. Don’t be surprised if the module that looks LEAST interesting to you today winds up being the most interesting one in reality, because it opens your mind to a new angle you had never thought about previously. The biggest takeaways are going to be 5-10 nuggets and ideas that you’ll bring back to your society for discussion and exploration. And maybe you’ll come back to a future SSP conference and present to everyone the success stories around your innovations! Hopefully you’ll also network with other attendees to expand your professional circle.

It looks like a great – and ambitious – agenda! How do you expect the day to go?

I think it’s going to be a euphoric return to the “in-person” SSP meeting experience – these are the first sessions of the conference (technically BEFORE the conference starts), and I think everyone is going to be so excited to learn and share and grow together. It’s a long session, but I expect it to go by in a blur due to the number and variety of speakers. What’s also great about this session is that if you THOUGHT you knew everything about society publishing already, the chaos of the past 2 years has changed a lot of things again and you may be amazed at what you learn. I’m really excited to hear some potentially surprising case studies and anecdotes about how society publishers have adjusted in the past 2 years.

News contribution by SSP member, Nicola Poser. Nicola is Director of Marketing And Sales at the American Mathematical Society.