Reflections on the ALPSP 2025 Redux Conference with Sam Johnson

ALPSP University Press Rising Star Awards Winner, Sam Johnson, Assistant Commissioning Editor for Ancient History & Classical Studies, Law and Politics & International Relations, looks back at the Redux Conference.

The 2025 ALPSP University Press Redux Conference, held on April 3-4 at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, continued its tradition of fostering collaboration among university presses and society publishers. As we are pushed further into an era of geopolitical uncertainty, Academic Publishers and University Presses alike sought to focus not only on the challenges they face in a turbulent market such as the rise of AI and growing demand for Open Access, but how to capitalise on the opportunities available to us to weather the current storm. It was evident early on that the conference was keen to stimulate discussion on how best to tackle prominent issues and seize opportunities and the highly engaged attendees provided an excellent platform for this throughout.

Given the challenging landscape faced by Academic Publishers at present alongside Meta’s pillaging of content to train their new LLM, LibGen, it’s no surprise that the topic of AI was ever present and weaved its way through each panel. Chris Leonard (Cactus Communications) tackled this in the opening keynote speech to discuss recent developments and how AI can support rather harm Publishers. He proposed that in 2025 the industry is at the start of a new chapter that will shape how we work within the next five to ten years. Despite concerns in this constantly evolving space, his message is ultimately one of encouragement for Publishers, that it is not a question of how AI can serve Publishing, but how Publishing can serve the world with the help of AI which I would like to hope put plenty of attendees at ease about what’s to come in the near future.

Competing for the attention of Academic Publishers alongside AI is of course the question of Open Access (OA) and how to disperse content to the masses in a financially sustainable manner. To quote another delegate, “if I had the answer to this, I’d no doubt be a very rich man”. During multiple panels attendees questioned which were the best methods for Publishers to meet the growing demand for OA, but also tried to understand how much our approaches to OA vary. This included some strong advocates for the Subscribe to Open (S2O) model which is gaining greater traction among Humanities and Social Sciences Publishers in particular like with Edinburgh University Press’ growing S2O initiative.

One of the most intriguing takeaways from the conference came from Sarah Ogilvie’s (University of Oxford) keynote speech, “Where does Publishing Fit into the Research Cycle”. She suggests that if Academic Publishers were to reconsider their place within the research cycle, they could open up greater revenue streams from a single project rather than simply charging consumers to access the end product of a research project, i.e., a book or a journal article. Instead, by intervening at an earlier stage of the research cycle and acquiring the rights to license the core research like datasets or a corpus. This can then be licensed to companies and other researchers keen to utilise the data for their own purposes to create another valuable income stream at a time when the traditional publishing model is under strain.

In summary, the 2025 ALPSP Redux Conference stressed the importance for Academic Publishers to adapt and innovate in an evolving landscape through collaboration with colleagues at University Presses and Publishers. From assessing the complexities of AI to rethinking Open Access models and exploring how best to diversify our revenue streams for

a financially stable future, the conference served as a timely reminder that while the challenges are significant, so too are the opportunities. By embracing change and fostering collaboration, University Presses can not only endure but actively shape the future of scholarly publishing.

About the ALPSP Rising Star Award 2024

Awarded for the first time in 2025, the University Press Rising Star Award is kindly sponsored by Publishers’ Licensing Services with the aim of recognizing potential in early careers individuals. The award is open to ALPSP members only and the person making the nomination was asked to outline in no more than 500 words why the person should be considered. 

Sam has been offered a free place to attend ALPSP University Press Redux Conference 2025, in collaboration with Oxford University Press, plus an allowance towards travel and hotel expenses. After the conference, Sam will provide a short report about his experience, which will be published on the ALPSP blog.  

The panel were particularly impressed with the innovation and initiative Sam has demonstrated throughout his time with Edinburgh University Press, particularly in mentorship, being an active member of the team, and championing a publishing internship scheme. 

Redux 2026

After successful events at UCL, Cambridge, and Edinburgh and an imminent event in Oxford, the UP Redux will return to Liverpool in 2026. For the first time, the event's programming will be developed by a committee spanning multiple UPs rather than solely reliant on its host.

If you want to join that committee, please email A.Cond@liverpool.ac.uk for further details. All career stages and perspectives are welcome.

About the author

Sam Johnson is Assistant Commissioning Editor for Ancient History & Classical Studies, Law and Politics & International Relations.

Reflections on the ALPSP Annual Conference 2024 by Anna Savage

 ALPSP Rising Star Awards Winner, Anna Savage, Publishing Executive at BMJ Group, looks back at the conference.

The keynote speech of this year’s ALPSP conference introduced the two fundamental challenges with which the scholarly publishing world is undeniably grappling: open access, and Generative AI. The former is perhaps more familiar territory, though far from a worn-out topic. The latter has more recently emerged, however it is nonetheless already deeply embedded in the discourse, debates and decision-making taking place within research institutions, academic publishers, libraries, and funding bodies worldwide.

The keynote was delivered by Jake Okechukwu Effoduh and was entitled ‘Scholarly Publishing in the Era of Open Access and Generative AI’. As an opening to the conference, the session suitably considered that which is on everybody’s minds, and attempted to make sense of the tangled issues inherent in the title. If it were not obvious to conference attendees before they entered, it was soon clear that this is a pivotal time in scholarly publishing. The final impression we were left with, however, was one of optimism, and in my mind this theme pervaded the rest of the conference.

It can be easy to feel pessimistic about the current challenges. The keynote, along with several other conference sessions, highlighted concerns about the potentially underwhelming impact of open access as a funding model, and of the adoption of Generative AI tools so far. Both have been favourably regarded as solutions: the former to address inequity; the latter to tackle inefficiency. Instead we have been presented with new problems which must somehow be addressed. The keynote did not propose to have the answers. What it did was recognise the complexity of the current landscape. The concluding call to action invited us to envision how we can harness the potential of open access and Generative AI tools, empowering us to shape their role rather than being shaped by them.

From the variety of sessions and speakers that followed during the rest of the conference, it became clear that a one-sided approach would likely be ineffective. Solutions must not be sought from scholarly publishers alone because the challenges are not exclusive to scholarly publishers. Yes, open access poses challenges for sustainable revenue for publishers, but it also leads to inequities for researchers - as highlighted in the keynote -  and encourages predatory publishing practices, impacting all stakeholders in the publishing community. Likewise, Generative AI has the potential to exacerbate concerns around integrity, authenticity and bias. There is a risk of undermining the scholarly communication system as a whole, and this cannot be addressed by publishers alone.

The contributions to the conference were, accordingly, highly varied. Speakers included representatives from both large and small publishers, funding bodies, technology providers, consultants and recruitment services, who offered a wide range of perspectives on the current landscape. Many sessions focused on emerging innovations and advancements positioned to address key challenges, such as equitable funding models (e.g., S2O), integrity checks, and sustainable solutions. It was evident that multiple approaches to the same issue can coexist, and that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Collaboration between publishers and the broader academic publishing community will be essential as we continue to innovate and overcome emerging challenges.

I am particularly pleased that the Rising Star Award will continue to offer opportunities for early-career professionals to engage with this conference, and to be part of these critical conversations that will no doubt shape our careers in scholarly publishing.

About the ALPSP Rising Star Award 2024

This award aims to recognise potential in early career individuals. The winners are given the opportunity and financial support to attend the ALPSP Annual Conference in person and write a short review of their experiences of the meeting. The ALPSP Rising Star Award is sponsored by Publishers' Licensing Services.

The winners of this year's Rising Star Award are:

• Hazel Rowland, IOP Publishing
• Anna Savage, BMJ
• Ella Gibbs, Bristol University Press
• Heather Townsend, Bristol University Press
• Melody (Zhuxin) Zhang, Wiley

ALPSP Annual Conference and Awards

Thank you to all our speakers, sponsors and attendees for making the ALPSP 2024 Conference and Awards such a success. We will be returning to the Hilton Manchester Deansgate Hotel next year from 10-12 September 2025. The call for topics is open until 1 December. For more information, visit our website.

About the author

Anna Savage is a Publishing Executive at BMJ Group. 

She works on the day-to-day management and strategic development of a portfolio of hybrid and open access specialist medical journals, collaborating closely with journal editors and partner societies. She is also involved in exploring the potential applications of Generative AI tools at BMJ and the implications for academic journals.