Academic Publishing and Book Launch

Join us for a hybrid event on academic publishing, research collaboration, and good practice in PGR-supervisor relationships.

AGENDA
1000-1030: Registration and welcome

1030-1100: Best practices for PGR/Supervisor relationships.

1100-1145: PGR/Supervisor co-publishing: Launch of ‘Regulating New Media in Africa’.

1145-1230: Demystifying Academic Publishing: Yemisi Akinbobola in conversation with Oxford University Press, SAGE, LSE Press and Palgrave/Springer

1230-1330: Network Lunch with publishers

The event will also mark the launch of Regulating New Media in Africa, an edited collection that examines contemporary regulatory interventions shaping digital media, digital broadcasting, social media, online harms, data infrastructure, and digital policymaking across the African continent.

Hosted by the Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research (BCMCR) at Birmingham City University, this event brings together academic staff, postgraduate researchers, supervisors, book contributors, publishers, and international participants for a practical and reflective conversation about academic publishing and the journey from research idea to published book.

While the event celebrates the publication of Regulating New Media in Africa, its wider focus is on how academic books are developed, how supervisors and PGRs can collaborate meaningfully, and how early-career researchers can begin building strong publishing pathways.

The programme will include a case study discussion on the making of Regulating New Media in Africa, exploring how the book emerged from conference collaboration and developed into a published edited collection. Editors and contributors will reflect on the book’s themes, its policy relevance, and its contribution to debates on media and digital regulation in Africa.

The event will also feature a dedicated academic publishing session with invited publishers, who will share practical guidance on publishing processes, book proposals, edited collections, monographs, thesis-to-book development, and pitching ideas for book series. Attendees will have the opportunity to network with publishers, visit publisher display tables, and discuss potential book ideas informally.

About the book

Regulating New Media in Africa considers the regulatory interventions introduced for new media and digital forms across Africa. As one of the few books focused exclusively on the governance of digital media on the continent, it offers a timely and critical engagement with the legal and policy frameworks shaping digital broadcasting, social media, and the broader digital ecosystem.

Drawing on in-depth case studies by African scholars across a wide range of countries and political systems, as well as interviews with professionals involved in shaping or contesting regulatory outcomes, the collection reveals key trends, contradictions, and policy dilemmas. It places emphasis on digital media legislation, internet shutdowns, regulation of online harms, data infrastructure, and digital policymaking, while offering new ideas on media and digital regulation across Africa.

Who should attend?

This event will be particularly useful for:

• Academic staff interested in publishing, supervision, edited collections, or research collaboration.
• Postgraduate researchers considering how to publish from their thesis or develop a future monograph.
• Supervisors who want to support PGRs in building publication pathways.
• Researchers working on media, communication, digital platforms, policy, regulation, African studies, or related fields.
• Anyone interested in how academic publishing can support research visibility, collaboration, and impact.

Event format

This is a hybrid event. The in-person event will take place at Birmingham City University, UK. A virtual link will be sent to registered online participants before the event.

Programme highlights

• Networking with academic publishers.
• Discussion on good practice in PGR-supervisor relationships.
• Case study conversation on developing Regulating New Media in Africa from conference collaboration to edited collection.
• Reflections from editors and contributors on the book’s themes and impact.
• Practical publishing guidance from publishers.
• Opportunity to pitch book ideas and speak informally with publishers.
• Light refreshments and networking.

Whether you are developing your first book idea, thinking about turning your thesis into a monograph, supervising doctoral researchers, or interested in the politics and governance of digital media in Africa, this event offers a valuable space for learning, connection, and collaboration.