Publishing and culture

Publishing is currently going through dramatic changes, from globalisation to the digital revolution. A whole culture of events, practices and processes has emerged centred around books and writing, which means that scholars of publishing need to understand it as a social and cultural practice as much as it is a business. This book explores the culture, practice and business of book production, distribution, publication and reception. It discusses topics as diverse as emerging publishing models, book making, writers festivals, fan communities, celebrity authors, new publishing technologies, self-publishing, book design and the role of class, race, gender and sexuality in publishing or book culture. This volume will be of interest to those in the disciplines of publishing studies, creative writing, English literature, cultural studies and cultural industries

Recovering forgotten lives through fact and fiction

This introductory chapter outlines how this collection brings together research that focuses on historic figures who have been largely neglected by history or forgotten over time

Publishing and culture: An introduction

This introduction to the volume outlines the book, and will be of interest to those in the disciplines of publishing studies, creative writing, English literature, cultural studies and cultural industries

Scriptwriting as a research practice: expanding the field

In October 2013, special issue 19 of TEXT: Journal of Writing and Writing Courses, ‘Scriptwriting as Creative Writing Research’, presented a landmark collection of scripted works – for stage and screen – under the rubric of verifiable research outputs. Concerned with content, form and context, these seven works from academics working in Australia demonstrated the potential of the script to embody – to perform – research. The works showcased the potential for stage plays and screenplays to be valued as research artefacts in their own right, without the need for them to be performed or produced in order to be ‘counted’ within the higher education sector

University writing programs deliver, so let’s turn the page

This article, commissioned by 'The Conversation' discusses the benefits that creative writing programs deliver to student, the university in which such programs reside, the community in which those universities exist, and the broader community, as well as writing, editing, publishing and literature more broadly

The impact of viral mutations on recognition by SARS-CoV-2 specific T cells

We identify amino acid variants within dominant SARS-CoV-2 T cell epitopes by interrogating global sequence data. Several variants within nucleocapsid and ORF3a epitopes have arisen independently in multiple lineages and result in loss of recognition by epitope-specific T cells assessed by IFN-γ and cytotoxic killing assays. Complete loss of T cell responsiveness was seen due to Q213K in the A∗01:01-restricted CD8+ ORF3a epitope FTSDYYQLY207-215; due to P13L, P13S, and P13T in the B∗27:05-restricted CD8+ nucleocapsid epitope QRNAPRITF9-17; and due to T362I and P365S in the A∗03:01/A∗11:01-restricted CD8+ nucleocapsid epitope KTFPPTEPK361-369. CD8+ T cell lines unable to recognize variant epitopes have diverse T cell receptor repertoires. These data demonstrate the potential for T cell evasion and highlight the need for ongoing surveillance for variants capable of escaping T cell as well as humoral immunity