LSE Press – the university’s publishing division – is set to launch Houghton Street Press (HSP) in a bid to help student academic journals in editing and publishing their output. HSP will launch with 6 student journals: Studies in Philosophy, Politics and Economics; Rerum Causae; LSE Undergraduate Political Review; The Public Sphere: Journal of Public Policy; LSE Law Review; and ISChannel.
The platform should reduce the barriers student journals face when it comes to the reviewing process and publication of their work.
HSP will eventually be governed by a committee, in which students are expected to participate.
Scholarly Communications Officer for LSE Library, Lucy Lambe, also added that down the line, the journal could also facilitate new modes of assessment, akin to the work of the journal Studies in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, which publishes work from PPE course students which are reviewed by peers and selected by a faculty board.
The editor of Rerum Causae – the journal of the Philosophy Society and Department– Harry Ward, said to The Beaver: “Houghton Street Press has been incredibly helpful for Rerum Causae. The Journal had some issues with editing and publishing before we decided to re-structure how we did things – once we had an idea of what we wanted, HSP approached us with the platform we’re on now, which fitted practically every plan we had for the Journal. So far, all the support we’ve had has been great.”
LSE Press is an open-access university press. It has recently published the open-access textbook Open Democracy, and the Journal of Illicit Economies and Development.
The launch event for Houghton Street Press, on 28 October, will showcase the current student journals and the work of LSE Press in general. HSP aims to recruit new student journals, student reviewers, and editors.
