Ian Bogost – Write-Only Publication
Here’s another way to frame publishers like IGI: they are vampire presses. They appear to be alive (disseminating ideas), but really they are dead (concealing ideas). They capture and feed on fragile individuals in order to advance their kind as a whole. They move in the shadows, sealing deals with institutional buyers under cover of night. Their goal is to hide their secret and pass it down through generations, adding to their number only as many as are needed to progress the line.
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I think Ian hit’s it on the head. I’ve long had IGI/Idea Group on my boycott list. I have heard many stories of poor editing and low standards of acceptance in relation to their books. There are many publishers pursuing the ‘lower barrier to entry’ model of academic publishing and it is putting quite a bit of pressure on the system as a whole. We need to be careful with these presses and all secondary presses in terms of academic productivity, as they aren’t necessarily helping anyone and in the end as Ian says they are praying on people.
