Reflections series to be published by prestigious American university press

So far, Aarhus University Press and John Hopkins University Press have planned to publish 15 of the Reflections books (called Tænkepauser in Danish). The English book series was launched yesterday, on 15 August, with the first five titles: Happiness, Play, Corruption, Democracy and Creativity.

It is no coincidence that these five titles are the first to be published, says Carsten Fenger-Grøndahl, director of Aarhus University Press.

“They are topics that we think say something about Danish values and what we stand for. Denmark has conducted world-leading research in the area of play, and we are one of the world’s least corrupt countries. We are also in dialogue with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, which has expressed an interest in the English Reflections series as a way to brand Denmark.

Education and research communication

Only researchers from Aarhus University are able to publish in the Reflections series, and each book must be a maximum of 60 pages and written in a language that is accessible to the general public. The series has been a great success with over 1,7 million copies sold in Danish and now with the collaboration with an American publishers.

“We work extremely closely with researchers, and they must be prepared for their work to undergo a thorough editing process. Some researchers have referred to this process as a course in research communication, and this is the premise they have to accept,” says Carsten Fenger-Grøndahl.

Recognition of research

A lot of work has gone into getting this new collaboration up and running.

“It’s a huge seal of approval for us as a publisher, but it’s also an honour for the researchers we work with, because there are millions of researchers who would like to be published by a publishing house like John Hopkins. Everything rests on whether the content is good, and it is considered to be so once it has been through a double peer-review process in the USA,” says Carsten Fenger-Grøndahl.

For John Hopkins University, the Reflections series is also a template for a similar concept called Wavelength, in which researchers from John Hopkins University in Baltimore will have the opportunity to publish in a short format.

“You might assume that they already have such a format, but they don’t, which is why Reflections has been so interesting for them,” says Carsten Fenger-Grøndahl.

Facts:

• Reflections (Tænkepauser) has been published since 2012, and, in June this year, the series released its 100th title.
• There are over 1.7 million printed copies of Reflections in Denmark, which makes it the biggest textbook success in recent times.
• Initially, 3,000 copies of Reflections will be published in the USA, and the first 15 English titles are scheduled to be published throughout 2022 and 2023.
• Aarhus University Press also publishes the series Nordic World in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin Press. It also works with American university publishers at Yale, MIT and Columbia.