In this post, editors from across Palgrave Macmillan’s publishing programme discuss why social science matters to them as commissioning editors, what attracted them to commissioning social science research, and identify key topics and themes in their current work.

Cathy Scott

I am the Executive Editor for Language and Linguistics, commissioning books in all formats from researchers all over the world. My list includes sub-disciplines and topics such as applied linguistics, language education, sociolinguistics, translation studies, stylistics, historical linguistics, pragmatics, professional communication, multilingualism, phonetics and phonology, and research methods in language and linguistics.

I’m seeing a lot of really interesting work at interdisciplinary boundaries at the moment, especially where Linguistics overlaps or interacts with other fields such as Sociology and Social Justice, Gender Studies, Criminology, Psychology and Education. I’m always interested in new – or underrepresented – perspectives on core topics from researchers in the Global South, or working with minority, minoritised and Indigenous languages.

To me, the Social Sciences are all about understanding how and why we exist, interact and move through the world, and a core component of my approach to commissioning is conceptualising Linguistics as a Social Science. This includes seeking out cutting-edge and critical work which challenges established norms and assumptions about society, and it’s this disruptive aspect that I find particularly exciting.

I would suggest that researchers who want to publish a book on the social sciences think very carefully about their target market and who exactly they envisage ‘speaking’ to as a primary or ideal reader. Lots of our books have interdisciplinary appeal and reach a range of audiences, but it can dilute the impact of an important message if you try to make it all things to all people.

Josie Taylor

I’m Josie Taylor and I oversee the Criminology and Socio-Legal studies lists at Palgrave Macmillan. I’m particularly interested in SDG16 and the topics of violence against women and children, police reform, human rights, social justice, reducing violence, and peace and conflict. Working in academic research publishing means seeking and showcasing innovative and critical work that will advance human rights and the peace and justice agenda and have real societal impact. Being able to support researchers, from early to mid-career and senior academics, to shape their ideas for the market and to reach a wider audience through publishing their research in books is really rewarding. Every idea is unique. The digital tools that we have at Springer Nature support the tracking of our books’ citations, social media mentions, and global reach is a great benefit that we offer our authors to track their research impact.

Milana Vernikova

My name is Milana Vernikova and I’m currently Executive Editor for Education at Palgrave Macmillan. I’ve been with Palgrave since 2015, starting as an editorial intern. I remember the first book I ever acquired: an edited volume called Evaluating Campus Climate at US Research Universities, edited by Krista M. Soria. I was so excited to have the first acquisition under my belt on such an expansive topic. It was published in 2018 and served as a great jumping off point for me on the program, leading me, in many ways, to where I am today. 

I acquire a range of subjects within Education from US and international perspectives. The list takes a broad view of education systems, processes, and theories, sometimes zooming in a specific context or practice, and other times turning to comparative study to assess the shape and direction of a particular educational phenomenon in the past, present, or future. The unifying theme that runs across the list is an emphasis on philosophies of Education that are often ‘otherized’ in the field but contribute so much towards our understanding of the essential role of education in human progress. Some examples include critical pedagogy, research into gender equity in education and supporting all learners, and perspectives on Indigenous knowledge systems such as Ubuntu. Many of the authors we work with on these subjects have submitted thought-provoking pieces to the Social Science Matters blog that I would highly recommend checking out! 

My interest in the Social Sciences began long before I understood it in a fully ‘academic’ sense. From my earliest years in school, I naturally gravitated towards subjects known collectively as social studies. Explorations of human behavior and social movements and the ways in which they shaped society – for good or bad – were endlessly fascinating to me. While in other classes I would stare at the clock, willing the bell to ring, I sat still in my high school sociology classroom consumed by the words of my teacher, who would recite passages from Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and quiz us on Durkheim’s theory of Collective Effervescence. While my appreciation of the Social Sciences deepened over time, I must credit the source: without access to public education (warts and all), I might not have gotten such early and sustaining exposure to the subjects that would one day become the focus of my professional life.

I consider myself extremely lucky to meet folks who span a diverse array of experiences and roles in and outside of academia, from newly minted PhDs to seasoned academicians with over a dozen publications under their belt. My best advice is that no matter where you fall on that spectrum, publishing a book always begins the same way: speaking with an editor! It happens to be my favorite part of the job. You can find and connect with editors who acquire in your subject area at disciplinary conferences, on publisher websites, on social media (hint: @PalgraveEducate) or sometimes we’ll even reach out to you directly after coming across your work! I enjoy meeting with potential authors and hearing their ideas. I arrive at every meeting with an open mind and no predetermined expectations, and I’m more than happy to just spend some time to provide background information on publishing for those who are curious about the process or the industry. Of course, it’s often true that the first conversation leads to a second, and a lasting, fruitful collaboration is born!  

Isobel Cowper-Coles

My name is Isobel Cowper-Coles and I am Senior Commissioning Editor for International Studies, working as part of the Palgrave Politics team.

My publishing covers a variety of subfields within International Studies including diplomacy, foreign policy, democracy, migration and international law and organisations. With the number of global challenges and crises being seen to be increasing, I see researchers taking a broad approach to thinking through causes and consequences of current events.

I am particularly interested in interdisciplinary work and research within these subfields on the themes of climate change and feminist and gender thought. 

Rebecca Longtin

I am Editor for Gender Studies at Palgrave Macmillan. Research in this area is increasingly important as we see renewed struggles for gender equality, violent challenges to LGBTQ+ rights, and changing discourses around concepts of gender worldwide. Gender and sexuality are central to many political debates and social tensions, and the social sciences make meaningful contributions to these conversations. I think that the most impactful Social Science books understand how they contribute to scholarly debates and broader conversations. They have a sense of not only their argument but also its meaning for how people live and what might make society better. This is what attracted me to commissioning in the Social Sciences.

Liam Inscoe-Jones

I am Liam Inscoe-Jones, Commissioning Editor for Psychology here at Palgrave Macmillan. Psychology sits at a unique place within Social Science, bridging as it does both clinical practice and social theory. Within my programme, those worlds combine; with practitioner-focussed titles sitting alongside rich community work detailing the ways in which therapy and psychoanalysis explain and address personal and social strife. In 2024, that work is growing increasingly nuanced, with a new generation of psychologists seeking to address social and economic inequalities, while addressing future challenges of artificial intelligence and ecological collapse. Current and future Palgrave authors should therefore be looking for ways in which they can articulate how the hard science of Psychology and its neuroscientific permutations are already at play within our societies, and can be deployed in novel ways to redress some of their greatest challenges.

Tula Weis

My name is Tula Weis and I’m Executive Editor for Finance at Palgrave Macmillan. Researchers and professionals are grappling with big questions in this space, particularly in the areas of financial stability, financial literacy, sustainable finance, and financial innovation. The interdisciplinary content we have published has posed questions on why these areas matter and where we go from here, not only for the betterment of the financial industry but for its people and planet. Seeing content become policy is the most meaningful experience and the main reason why I became an editor.

Alice Green

I’m Editor for Education at Palgrave Macmillan. I commission books on a vast range of topics within education, in particular higher education, alternative education, adult education and lifelong learning, gender, race, inequality and social justice, creativity and arts education and teacher education.

At the moment, I’m interested in how we as a publisher can contribute to Springer Nature’s Sustainable Development Goals Programme, as well as to the goals more widely. Addressing societal challenges is obviously integral to the Social Sciences, and the more theoretical and conceptual responses to these issues that we champion at Palgrave are just as important as those from the ‘hard sciences’. Examples include Indigenous methodologies, how feminist posthumanism and care ethics contribute to understanding current world conditions, and strategies for overcoming crisis in the neoliberal university system.

I would advise potential authors to think carefully about the audience for your work and its contribution to the field. Having a clear idea of your readership from day one often means that the book will take shape much more quickly, so it’s a great idea to start by acquainting yourself with our publishing programme, as well as reaching out to an editor!