Publication Celebration

All Columbia College Chicago faculty (full- and part-time) are invited to participate in the Annual Publication Celebration.

The Publication Celebration recognizes, shares, and honors the publication achievements of faculty during the previous calendar year. The event intends to acknowledge the many roles that go into the creation of a particular publication (e.g. development or copy editor, designer, illustrator, etc.), as well as the variety of modes, genres, disciplines, and forms in which Columbia faculty write. The event focuses primarily on work produced external to the college and that is at a stage in the publication process of having gone through significant academic and/or professional peer review.

What counts as a publication? What might I submit? New work published between January 1 and December 31 of the previous year is eligible. This event aspires to be as inclusive as possible. Alphabetic texts (hardcopy or online), as well as multimodal compositions (digitally born/created texts), are welcome. Any role in the publication—author, editor, designer, illustrator, etc.—is valid. Multiple submissions will be accepted.

Have you’ve had (or will have) work published between February 1, 2023, and January 31, 2024, please fill out this form to have your work considered for the celebration. Feel free to email Susan Kerns at skerns@colum.edu with any questions.

Past Events

2023 Publication Celebration Website

2022 Publication Celebration Website

2021 Publication Celebration Website

2020 Publication Celebration Catalog

2019 Publication Celebration Catalog

2018 Publication Celebration Catalog

Statement on Promotion of Self-published Materials at Columbia College Chicago

One important value in having a book published by an academic/commercial publisher is that it goes through a necessary process of peer review. An editor and colleagues in the discipline decide whether the book should be published and also recommend revisions, corrections, deletions, and additions prior to publication. Peer review, including the high-quality vetting of materials through other recognized professional/disciplinary processes, is standard in assuring academic quality and integrity.

A self-published work does not go through this peer-review vetting. Without this evidence of high-quality academic peer review, Columbia College Chicago does not formally celebrate or promote self-published work. This is not censorship. It is upholding the standards of academic quality and integrity referenced above, which is one of our core imperatives as an institution of higher education.

It is important to note that there are print and electronic materials that are not necessarily vetted through a formalized professional or disciplinary publishing process prior to publication. ‘Zines and other DIY electronic publications (e.g. podcasts, blogs), for example, may be self-generated and self-promoted. Artist books are also often self-published. For these sorts of works that are self-published, a professional and disciplinary peer-review vetting process occurs post-publication. Some of the more easily recognized forms of evidence in these instances are: 1) formal reviews published in professional and/or academic journals; 2) nomination and/or reception of academic and/or professional awards; 3) use in curriculum in institutions of higher education; 4) inclusion in events with a vetting process such as a gallery exhibition or museum installation; 5) wide-spread critical recognition of the scholarly and/or creative value of the work in a specific discipline/field.