Trailblazers

Liverpool University Press Trailblazers is an Open Access initiative designed to support Early Career Researchers to publish their first monograph.

How the Trailblazers initiative will work 

Liverpool University Press Trailblazers is an innovative Open Access (OA) initiative designed to support Early Career Researchers in the development of their first monograph, combining open access book publishing with author boot camps. This initiative will provide successful Early Career and Postgraduate Researchers with the knowledge and skills necessary to support the publication of their work throughout their careers.

This is a joint initiative between Liverpool John Moores University and the Universities of Salford, Liverpool, Lancaster, Reading and Wolverhampton with the humanities and social sciences publisher Liverpool University Press (LUP). LUP publishes around 200 books a year, 50 journals, and more than a dozen digital collections. All books published through Trailblazers will go through a rigorous editorial and peer review process, will be published online as well as in print and authors will receive royalties.

Selected Early Career and Postgraduate Researchers will experience a transparent publication process, undergoing proposal and manuscript peer review, editorial guidance from senior commissioning LUP editors, as well as professional copy-editing, typesetting, and marketing, concluding in the publication of an open access edition of their work. A series of masterclasses by publishing and library professionals will cover everything from how to write a proposal and turn a dissertation into a book, right through to how to index and what alt-text means, plus invaluable guidance on marketing, library collection management, research metrics, and how publishing an open access monograph will benefit your research career.

The scheme is open for expressions of interest from LJMU Postgraduate Researchers (PGRs) and Early Career Researchers (ECRs) in the Faculty of Society and Culture. LUP will work with chosen authors to develop their proposal for review and commissioning in Autumn 2025. The first workshop will be held in June 2025 to welcome authors and introduce the publishing process.

The Trailblazers application process

Application to Trailblazers is a competitive process. Successful applicants will demonstrate how their proposed book builds on the work of others and contributes to current debates in the field as well as why this work is best presented as an Open Access Monograph. Submissions will be reviewed by your faculty; successful submissions will be notified by the end of May 2025. We are aiming to select two proposals for this initiative.

How to become a Trailblazer 2025

To apply for Trailblazers 2025, you should complete the expression of interest form by 30 April 2025.

The following specifications apply:

  • a total word length (everything except the index) of between 80,000 and 100,000 words  
  • a maximum of 20 black and white images (including maps, figures and so on)  
  • a subject area of humanities and social sciences (in line with LUP's publishing portfolio)  
  • you have not previously published a book, monograph or longform output for which you are the sole author 
  • you meet the LUP and UKRI definition of an Early Career Researcher (ECR) 
  • you are within eight years of your PhD award (this is from the time of the PhD 'viva' oral test) or equivalent professional training 
  • or within six years of your first academic appointment (the first full or part-time paid employment contract that lists research or teaching as the primary function) 
  • or you are a PGR student expecting to complete your PhD within the next year  

Please note: there is no additional workload allocation dedicated to this initiative

The Trailblazers 2025 Timeline 

  • Wednesday 30th April 2025: deadline for expressions of interest   
  • End of May 2025: outcome of expressions of interest submission  
  • June 2025: Boot camp delivered by Liverpool University Press to turn expressions of interest forms into publishing proposals  
  • Autumn 2025: Review of publishing proposals by Liverpool University Press, including external peer review  
  • Early 2026: Publishing contracts signed  

Further information about Trailblazers

If you have any questions about the submission process, please email lst_research_support@ljmu.ac.uk

For questions relating to publishing with LUP please email Alison Welsby, Editorial Director at LUP.