An Inside Look at UT Press Journals

Each year the University of Texas Press publishes around 100 books. A cause for celebration, the release of a new title is heralded with ads, reviews, a social media blitz, and author appearances. Compared to the buzz surrounding a new hardcover, the arrival of a new issue of an academic journal is more understated. It’s easy to take a publication for granted when it has been reproducing itself for years—or for over a century in the case of Texas Studies in Literature and Language, which celebrated its centennial last year. So it may be easy to forget that UT Press also publishes 11 journals in various academic fields, including film and television studies, archaeoastronomy, and Asian and Latin American music.

In contrast to the production schedule of a book, a scholarly journal’s advantage is speed. Whereas a book is the culmination of years of research, writing, and editing, a journal provides a more direct way for scholars to present the latest research and critical analysis on a subject area. Occasionally, a special issue provides more than a journal’s usual scope by focusing on a chosen topic. This summer’s edition of Asian Music, for example, was devoted entirely to Indonesian pop music. And of course, more than one journal article has become the seed for a book idea.

Journal publishers excel not only in publishing the most current scholarship but also in innovating distribution of content. UT Press Journals expedites subscription delivery with digital options. Among other access models, Project Muse offers complete issues of Asian Music, Cinema Journal, Information & Culture, Journal of the History of Sexuality, Journal of Latin American Geography, Latin American Music Review, Texas Studies in Literature & Language, and The Velvet Light Trap. (Hard copies of Archaeoastronomy and Journal of Individual Psychology can be ordered through the UT Press website.)

Earlier this fall, Director Dave Hamrick announced the promotion of Journals Manager Sue Hausmann to Assistant Director, a promotion that commends everyone in her department, who have accrued a total of 65 years at UT. The strides her department has taken in electronic publishing and marketing will allow Hausmann to use her more visible position to help inform the growth of UT Press as a whole. 

“How may I keep up with UT Press Journals?” Let us count the ways:

1. UT Press has launched a new website where you can find each of our journals. Peruse tables of contents, purchase a subscription, and order single issues and articles. 
2. Follow us on Twitter (@UTPressJournals) for new issue announcements and updates on our authors, relevant academic fields, and university events.
3. Like us on Facebook. UT Press Journals has a page, and there are pages for Information & Culture, Journal of the History of Sexuality, Latin American Music Review, Studies in Latin American Popular Culture, Texas Studies in Literature and Language, and The Velvet Light Trap.

—Sheila Scoville, Promotions Coordinator