Be a Trailblazer and publish your monograph open access

The University of Wolverhampton library is excited to announce that it has joined Trailblazers, a unique open access initiative supporting Early Career Researchers to publish their first monograph. 

The collaboration was originally developed with Liverpool University Press and the libraries of the University of Salford, the University of Liverpool, and Lancaster University. This year, new joiners alongside Wolverhampton include Liverpool John Moores and the University of Reading. Liverpool University Press publishes works in the fields of literature, modern languages, history, film studies and earth & climate sciences. The full range of subjects covered by LUP can be found here.

As Trailblazers is an innovative publishing model with open access and collaboration at its core, participating in the scheme is a positive step towards advancing open research culture at the university as it enables us to demonstrate our commitment to expanding open research practice. Equally, it allows us to support individuals at an early stage in their career by providing much needed guidance, training and a chance to publish, when such opportunities can be difficult to find. 

Through Trailblazers, ECRs can publish a monograph open access with Liverpool University Press and maximise the opportunity for impact from their research. Authors can experience a “transparent publication process” which includes:

• proposal and manuscript peer review
• editorial guidance from senior commissioning editors 
• professional copy-editing, typesetting and marketing

They can also attend masterclasses by publishing and library professionals on a range of topics including: how to write a proposal and turn a dissertation into a book; and how to index and what alt-text means. Guidance on marketing, library collection management, research metrics, and the benefits of open access for a research career are also included.  

If you’d like to apply for a place on Trailblazers, please complete the Trailblazers application form and return it to the scholarly communications team by Monday 14th April.  The form and further information about the programme can be found on the library’s Gold open access webpage, alternatively contact the scholarly communications team: wire@wlv.ac.uk 

 
Please check that your proposed monograph falls within the scope of LUP’s publishing remit before applying. 

More information about Trailblazers can be found on the Liverpool University Press website.

Sarah Dar, Scholarly Communications Officer