Russian-Language Publications

Russian-Language Series

ASP’s Russian-language series feature outstanding scholarly monographs in the fields of Russian/Slavic, Jewish, European, American, and Asian/Eastern studies as well as Global Environmental Studies and Global Health. These volumes, written by leading American and European scholars, are presented in Russian translation for the first time. We believe that by enabling translations of thought-provoking and enlightening research into Russian we contribute to the dialogue of ideas with Russian-speaking scholars in the spirit of Respublica literaria and help enrich the knowledge of students as well as a broader readership.

Background

The Russian-language publications of Academic Studies Press were launched in 2018, to bring the Western gaze of Russian culture, and later, of other cultures as well, to the Russian readership, and thus to promote interaction between cultures and international understanding. The project revived the spirit of its preceding series “Sovremennaia Zapadnaia Rusistika,” previously published throughout the 1990s by Akademicheskii Proekt Publishing House (St. Petersburg, Russia). The Contemporary Western Rusistika series that was the initial subject area of our Russian-language publications was then complemented by the Contemporary Jewish Studies, Asian Studies, European Studies, American Studies, and most recently, Environmental and Global Health studies.

About the Publishing Process

ASP has developed a professional and efficient publishing process for volumes in our Russian-language series. We work with experienced translators familiar with academic texts and provide copyediting, proofreading, printing, bespoke marketing plans, and active distribution throughout Russia and beyond. All books published within the series undergo the following publication stages outlined below:

Permissions

Our acquisitions editors work closely with university and independent presses to secure rights for volumes under consideration. The translation rights for our Russian-language publications are licensed from a wide range of such renowned scholarly publishers as Yale UP, Harvard UP, Cornell UP, Indiana UP, University of Pittsburgh Press, University of Wisconsin Press, Washington UP, Springer, Peter Lang, and many more.

Translation and Editing

Our network of translators and editors are experienced professionals who are in constant contact with authors throughout. Authors are able to discuss and clarify the text in detail and approve the translation at any stage of the translation process. Editors provide copyediting and facts/quotation checking, ensuring that translations meet the highest standards.

Production

Depending on the complexity of the project, the production process typically spans 12-24 months.

Production includes:

  • proofreading of the text;
  • indexing of the book;
  • design, composition, and typesetting of the text;
  • cover design specific to the Russian edition;
  • production of camera-ready copy;
  • e-book conversion;
  • printing of the book (typically 300-copy or 500-copy print runs).

Marketing

ASP rigorously promotes all Russian-language translations both before and after publication to ensure maximum visibility. For each project, we provide a bespoke marketing plan. If a book is targeted at any particular audiences, focusing on specific territories or population groups, we develop a targeted promotion plan and enable readers to place their orders online.

Our promotion includes:

  • online book launch events
  • offline presentations at major bookstores, libraries, museums
  • ads in main specialized online and offline media (Gorky, Polka etc.)
  • articles and reviews on the websites of main Russian-language magazines, such as Literaturnoe Obozrenie
  • we work with Russian-language book-bloggers and main social media
  • we mail 10 copies of each book to major scholars in the field, according to the author’s request.

Distribution

ASP has built solid distribution and supply chain relationships with key Russian and international book suppliers.

All books published within the series benefit from:

  • An exclusive contract with one of the leading national book distributors, The Book Club 36.6. Books are distributed to specialized bookshops that include Biblio-Globus, Phalanster, Podpisnie Izdaniya, Chitay Gorod, Moskovskiy Dom Knigi, Moskva, among others. By selling our books through largest online book shops we can reach our readers throughout Russia, as well as other countries with large Russian audiences, including Belarus and Kazakhstan. 
  • Availability on all major Russian online book retailers, including Ozon and Labyrinth, allowing volumes to reach readers throughout Russia
  • Direct work with library suppliers who distribute to the major public and academic libraries, which are extensively used by our target audiences
  • Automatic addition to ASP’s digital platform BiblioRossica which encompasses titles from 47+ leading Russia-based scholarly presses.

For worldwide distribution we use our U.S. network, which includes the following:

  • All Russian-language titles are present on our website and may be ordered online. We print the preordered copies on demand  and deliver them to all the locations in the U.S. and Europe as well as all the territories that may be reached through American delivery companies (FedEx, DHL, UPS).
  • We also use our network of retailers and book suppliers to distribute the print editions and ebooks in the U.S. and beyond. This includes such retail platforms Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, GOBI, Bookshop.org, etc.
  • The Russian translations also become available through digital library suppliers such as Proquest, De Gruyter, EBSO, and JSTOR. We are also currently putting together a list of public and academic libraries and Russian cultural centers in US localities with high populations of Russian speakers that we also plan to start distributing the Russian translations too.

Open Access

To secure access to and affordability of Russian-language publications to the readers we enable their digital representation through Open Access. This format implies that the Russian translation of your book may be released in digital form only and will be available to the Russian-language readers free of charge, but ASP may still produce your complimentary copies as well as print and sell hard copies of the book on demand.

For ownership protection, we work under Creative Commons Licenses (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/). We typically use CC BY-NC license, which allows free reading and non-commercial use of the protected materials. Alternatively, you can also choose to have your book uploaded under a license that prohibits derivatives or a license that permits commercial use.

Books presented in the open access format are uploaded into JSTOR, OAPEN, De Gruyter, Open Research Library, and DOAB, as well as other digital libraries. These initiatives ensure your titles are easily discoverable and accessible to readers across the globe through a variety of repositories and indexers. Interested readers will easily find your book by searching for author, editor, or keywords, and will quickly receive information on the location of the e-book or where to purchase a hard copy.

Russian-Language Series

Why publish a Russian translation of your book?

Benefits for authors and institutions:

Reach out to scholars & students worldwide

Despite the current crisis, Russian remains the language of international communication and education in more than 40 universities in Europe and Asia. The Russian edition of your book will contribute to international scholarly exchange and dialogue as well as expose the Russian-speaking scholars to the studies and interpretations of their peers from other countries with prominent academic traditions. We work with such major library suppliers in the U.S.A. and in the Russian-speaking territories, which helps expand the scope and reach of our authors’ publications.

Boost your scholarly profile

For authors, sharing their research with a wider audience also means increasing their citation rates, uptake, and general impact of their research. This ensures that their work gets noticed in the global scholarly community and benefits recognition.

For academic institutions, having the works of their professors and lecturers republished in the Russian language means boosting their international profile and reputation, increasing faculty publication productivity, and helping disseminate the findings of university-led research to a wide international audience.

Reach readers outside academia

New books are distributed to a wide array of brick-and-mortar shops across the Russian territory of distribution and to the largest international online retailers (the likes of Amazon, B&N, Bookshop.org, etc.). For readers in other countries, we offer the opportunity to purchase our print books from ASP’s website and to order ebooks from a number of online platforms such as ProQuest, Ebsco, JSTOR, and De Gruyter. ASP makes great efforts to present a variety of formats to customers—with an emphasis on libraries—to ensure that all purchasing preferences are met.

Get maximum visibility with Open Access

To ensure that our books reach the largest possible number of readers worldwide, we offer hybrid print-on-demand + open access publication. The open access edition is uploaded to, Open Research Library, De Gruyter, and JSTOR and cataloged in a wide range of repositories and indexers, including: DOAB, EBSCO, OAPEN, Google Books/Scholar, OCLC WorldCat, Ex Libris 360 Knowledge Base/Knowledge Works (including 360 Core, search, link, resource manager and Marc), and Gemeinsamer Bibliotheksverbund Verbundzentrale (GBV).

How we choose books

We analyze the demands of Russian-language scholars from Kazakhstan to Israel and choose the best books that will suit their interests. We look for scholarly publications that have novelty, a fresh perspective or a unique gaze as well as the potential to fill in the existing gap in the scholarship available in the Russian language on the subject. We believe that by enabling translations of thought-provoking and enlightening research into Russian we contribute to the dialogue of ideas with Russian-speaking scholars in the spirit of Respublica literaria and help enrich the knowledge of students as well as a broader readership.