If you or someone you know is interested in supporting the series, make a gift online or contact Alanna Duncan, Development Director of Columbia University Press.
Black Lives in the Diaspora: Past / Present / Future is a book series that focuses on Black lives in a global diasporic context published by Columbia University Press in partnership with Howard University’s College of Arts and Sciences and Columbia University’s African American and African Diaspora Studies Department. This collaboration between a historically Black university and an Ivy League university’s press and faculty represents the first step in a larger partnership between the two universities to publish more robustly in Black studies and to recruit and support a cohort of editorial fellows to provide an entryway for recent HBCU graduates into the publishing industry.
Building on Columbia University Press’s history of publications in Black studies and history, sociology, religion, philosophy, and literature, and recognizing the important voice in African American studies and scholarly publishing that was lost with the closure of Howard University’s press over a decade ago, the partnership showcases scholarship and writing that enriches our understanding of Black experiences in the past, present, and future with the goal of reaching beyond the academy to intervene in urgent national and international conversations about the experiences of people of African descent. The series anchors an exchange across two global educational institutions, both located in historical capitals of Black life and culture.
Those interested in the forthcoming titles and/or submitting a project to the series should reference the series page.
The collaboration is seeking funding to expand the program to publish up to 20 titles per year and augment the staff of Columbia University Press with a new full-time Black studies editor and two graduate student fellows per year—one from Columbia and one from Howard. The paid fellows will receive specialized training in the editorial department and will be supported to gain experience across the other standard departments in publishing, according to their own interests. Over time, this cohort of fellows, mentored by the new editor and others at Howard University and Columbia University, will be prepared for careers in the publishing industry. The series will become self-sustaining financially within five years.
Read more about the books and the series on our blog.