Al-Diwan brings you the latest news and analysis from the publishing and academic worlds that relate to pedagogy and knowledge production.

Publishing

Storytelling Competition from Film and Television: What Can Publishers Do?
By Porter Anderson (Publishing Perspectives) 

“Publishing’s traditional position as society’s main storytelling industry may be in jeopardy. At a Byte the Book session during London Book Fair, speakers discussed how publishers can remain competitive.”

Deconstructing Word-of-Mouth Marketing
By Mark Coker (Publishers Weekly) 

“Many factors can lead to a book going viral – and many obstacles can prevent it from reaching the next reader.” Mark Coker dives into publicity and its impacts on book sales.

The Best Book is the One You Can’t Remember
By C.D. Rose (Electric Lit)

C.D. Rose recalls the fierce emotion associated with a single book that, to this day, he has been unable to locate. He continues to discuss the relationship between memory and books; it is an intense bond that is unique to each reader.
 

Man Booker International Prize shortlist a boon for small publishers
By Amy Rushton (The Conversation)

The Man Booker International Prize is the UK’s most prestigious prize for translated fiction, and this year translations of Arabic, French, Hungarian, Korean, Spanish, and Polish books are in the running.

Education
 

The Teachers’ Movement Goes Virtual
By Rachel M. Cohen (The Atlantic) 

The teacher strikes across West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Kentucky were well covered throughout the news. For teachers of online classes, their strike threat did not receive the same attention. Rachel Cohen provides background to online education, looking at its potential for success, failures it has seen, and how teachers fare in these virtual education organizations.
 

“Assessment” Continued: Academic Success vs. Health and Well-Being
By Mark Hulsether (Academe Blog) 

Amidst the teacher strikes in the US, across the pond, there was also a major strike at British universities in response to cuts to retirement pensions and the devaluing of instructor labor. Mark Hulsether takes the time in his article to more fully address the human impact of academia’s labor expectations.

Education in Morocco: A Plea for a Middle Way
By Ursula Lindsey (Al-Fanar Media)

“The debate over the right to free education resurfaced in Morocco recently,” and Ursula Lindsey gives her insight as to the impact of the country’s privatization of education.

Why Does the Public Distrust Higher Ed? Too Many Women
By Nancy S. Niemi (The Chronicle of Higher Education)

According to a national poll from the Pew Research Center, “a majority (58 percent) of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents believed that colleges and universities have a negative effect on the country.” Nancy S. Niemi proposes a few explanations as to why higher education has lost the trust of some sectors of the American public.