The book is so much more than that thing with pages sitting on your shelf, or the file on your e-reader. Books are concepts, symbols, the subjects of viral social media posts, set pieces in popular culture, and more. As book historians, we are used to engaging with these objects and ideas in a relatively formal way, via fairly prescriptive formats, such as articles and conference papers. But where do you go if you want to talk about how an anime interprets the development of the codex format and moveable type printing? Or if you want a quick overview of what’s going on on #BookTok? Or if you want speculation on the reading room practices of Terry Pratchett’s Unseen University? Welcome to SHARP News Features, the home of book history writing, scholarship, and reflections that are a little bit outside the norm.
Category: Events & Announcements
Call for Applicants: SHARP in the Classroom Editor
SHARP News is the open access newsletter for the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing. SHARP in…
Job Opportunity: Professorship in Media Change with a focus on Book Culture and Digital Publications, Leipzig University
The professorship researches and teaches at the Institute of Communication and Media Studies on the transformation of the book as a medium and comparable writing and reading media in the digital age. The focus is on the cultural and economic significance of the book in conjunction with other media of social communication as well as innovations in production, design and distribution and change in reception and appropriation (e.g. open access, participatory forms of production, digital literacy) from a communication and media studies perspective.
Invitation to Shape the Future of SHARP News Bibliographies
SHARP News is excited to announce that the SHARP News bibliographies, which have been published quarterly till now, will be supplemented with bibliographies on specialized topics that will not be limited by date, format, or language. Read more about how you can contribute to our list of potential topics!
Welcome!
As SHARP president Shef Rogers states in his welcome letter, SHARP News has historically been a stimulating resource for book history reviews, updates, and bibliographies. We want to ensure this website continues and expands this tradition by becoming a thriving space for community and scholarly research. Toward that goal, we’re thrilled to announce that we have just hired a new team of editors to revitalize and bring forth new voices and ideas to our community. Please subscribe to receive our updates!