Publishing your first book is a major milestone in an academic career in the humanities. A key starting point for your first book project is your doctoral dissertation. However, the journey from a text written to earn a PhD to a text that is publishable as a book can be a challenging one. In this workshop and mentoring scheme, we will discuss how early career researchers can best navigate this journey, addressing questions such as:

• What are the key differences between a PhD thesis and an academic book, and how do I get from one to the other?
• How do I identify a relevant publishing house for my book project, and how do I establish contact and communicate with editors?
• What are publishers looking for in a book project, and how do I develop a convincing book proposal?
• Once a book contract is in hand, what are the major steps towards the completion of my project?

Alf Gunvald Nilsen is the director of the Centre for Asian Studies in Africa at the University of Pretoria, where he also works as a professor in the Department of Sociology. His research focuses on the politics and political economy of democracy and development in the global South, with a particular focus on Asia. He is the author and co-author of multiple books, such as Dispossession and Resistance in India: The River and the Rage (Routledge, 2010), We Make Our Own History: Marxism and Social Movements in the Twilight of Neoliberalism (Pluto Press, 2014), Adivasis and the State: Subalternity and Citizenship in India's Bhil Heartland (Cambridge University Press, 2018), and most recently Southern Interregnum: Remaking Hegemony in Brazil, India, China, and South Africa (Manchester University Press, 2025). 

Please register here: 

https://uva.fra1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aWw1HrNSLFZIzZA