This week, we would have been in San Antonio at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences annual meeting, celebrating new publications, handing out exam copies, and talking with you about the books you’d like to write (or wish that someone else would write). And, of course, taking lots of author selfies at the booth.
While we’re disappointed not to have a chance to meet with our authors, reviewers, and readers in person at ACJS, we hope you are all safe and sane and rapidly attaining Zoom power-user status. I’d love to share some virtual conference highlights with you:
New Series: Criminology Explains
We are thrilled to launch a new series of coursebooks, Criminology Explains. The concise, approachable books in this series are designed to sit neatly alongside the major criminological theory textbooks and provide a deep dive into theory as applied to specific criminal justice topics. The first volume, Criminology Explains Police Violence, just published, and the next one, Criminology Explains School Bullying, will be available in September. Request your exam copies now, and for some lighter reading, check out our art director’s inside look at designing book series, including this one.
Books for Your Courses
If you were planning to prowl the ACJS exhibit hall to scout books for your courses, we’ve got you covered. Here are some of my top recommendations:
Law and Justice around the World, by Mikaila Arthur, is a perfect fit with the conference theme, “Envisioning Justice: From Local to Global.” Unlike most books for comparative law and justice courses, this one widens the lens beyond a singular focus on criminal justice, and promises to spark critical discussions of justice around the world today. While you’re waiting for your exam copy to arrive, you can download the instructor resources today.
Law and Society Today, by Riaz Tejani, is a fresh and ultra-modern approach to law and society courses. It shows students how dynamic forces shape the way the law is constructed and implemented, and draws on a cutting-edge set of examples from art, science, technology, and nature. With a particular emphasis on how law drives social inequality, it’s perfect for instructors seeking a textbook with a point of view (including those who identify as scholar-activists).
Inside Ethnography, edited by Miriam Boeri and Rashi Shukla, offers straight talk for would-be researchers, animating the standard methodological how-to covered in most methods courses with candid accounts of flaws, missteps, ethical dilemmas, and hard-learned lessons from leading ethnographers around the world. Professor Shukla spoke with us before the American Society of Criminology annual meeting in this guest blog post.
Up Close with Our Authors
In another post, we highlighted some of our hot new books for broad audiences. We invite you to read or listen to our authors in a variety of venues:
Bill Drummond, journalism professor and founding editor of Morning Edition, spoke with the Criminal Injustice Podcast about Prison Truth: The Story of the San Quentin News.
Hadar Aviram, law professor who runs the California Correctional Crisis blog, will give a virtual talk on Yesterday’s Monsters: The Manson Family Cases and the Illusion of Parole on Tuesday, March 31, 2020, from 12:30pm to 2pm EST as part of the Law & Society Association’s Digital Speaker Series.
Christine Scott-Hayward, co-author, with Hank Fradella, of Punishing Poverty: How Bail and Pretrial Detention Fuel Inequalities in the Criminal Justice System, appeared onThis is Hell to explain how the US can’t afford its own cash bail system.
Aya Gruber, law professor, former public defender, and author of the upcoming The Feminist War on Crime: The Unexpected Role of Women’s Liberation in Mass Incarceration penned a New York Times op-ed with Lara Bazelon, “#MeToo Doesn’t Always Have to Mean Prison.”
If you were planning to stop by the booth and pitch your own book, I’d be happy to hear from you. I’m always on the lookout for interesting new ideas, particularly works with a critical edge, whether they’re for scholars, students, or popular readers. You can find our submission guidelines and contact information here.
We look forward to seeing you at next year’s conference. In the meantime, you can sign up for our newsletter here to receive the latest discounts, promotions, and announcements.