The course focuses on current trends and issues of the modern publishing activity considering the book/publication in all its forms (printed, digital, electronic) with special concern on the changes at the publishing chain, the impact of new information technologies and new publishing models, the role of collaborations. Special emphasis is given on the work of the editor and of the editorial department investigating issues of both tangible and intangible assets of the book/publication. Aesthetics in publishing is further and deeply discussed.

Aim of the course: the students will understand and discuss current trends and issues of the publishing activity focusing on the role of editing with special consideration of the publication (printed, electronic, digital) as context and as aesthetic object. 

Week #1: Typology of the book/publication nowadays. The impact of new information and communication technologies.

Week #2: Aesthetics in publishing: Book illustration and decoration. The development of the page (printed, electronic). Gamification. Convergence and interactivity. Innovation and tradition. (Part I)

Week #3: Aesthetics in publishing: Book illustration and decoration. The development of the page (printed, electronic). Gamification. Convergence and interactivity. Innovation and tradition. (Part II).

Week #4: Childrens’ books. Comics, graphic novels. The role of the author, publisher, editor, illustrator / graphic designer.

Week #5: Innovative books, Artists books.

Week #6: New publishing models

Week #7: Book editing. The role of the editor and of the editorial department. Collaborations in the publishing chain. Book proposals. Book acquisition and development. The making of the book. (Part I)

Week #8: Book editing. The role of the editor and of the editorial department. Collaborations in the publishing chain. Book proposals. Book acquisition and development. The making of the book. (Part II)

Week #9: Reader engagement

Week #10: Development of the publishing policy

Week #11: Lectures of invited guests 

Week #12: Lectures of invited guests 

Week #13: Revision, discussion, presentations of the students’ essays.

• Banou, Christina (2017), Re-inventing the Book. Challenges from the Past for the Publishing Industry, Foreword by Angus Phillips, Elsevier - Chandos Publishing, Cambridge - Oxford.
• Davies, Gill (2004), Book Commissioning and Acquisition, second ed., London & New York: Routledge.
• Gross, Gerald επιμ. (1985), Editors on Editing. An Inside View of What Editors Really Do, New York: Harper and Row Publishers.
• Matthews, Nicole – Moody, Nickianne (2007), Judging a Book by its Cover. Fans, Publishers, Designers, and the Marketing of Fiction, London: Ashgate Publications.
• Phillips, Angus (2014), Turning the Page. The Evolution of the Book, Abington, Oxon & New York: Routledge
• Ο κύκλος του βιβλίου. Ο συγγραφέας, ο επιμελητής – τυπογράφος, ο εκδότης, ο κριτικός, ο αναγνώστης, Αθήνα: Εταιρεία Σπουδών Νεοελληνικού Πολιτισμού και Γενικής Παιδείας Σχολής Μωραϊτη, σ. 21- 29.

Lectures with ppt presentations, projects presented by the students, lectures by invited speakers (sometimes), eclass.

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Written exam, optional essay