The 2026 (CSE) Annual Meeting held in Durham, NC offered a dynamic program from Sunday through and Tuesday, May 3-5, that reflected the complexity, creativity, and rapid evolution of scholarly publishing. Many of the attendees work for independent, smaller journal publishers, whose challenges and opportunities differ greatly from those of larger publishers. Our retired former journal lead, Tim Cross, was a one-time president of CSE, and it was simultaneously an honor and intimidating to walk in his footsteps representing Westchester this year.
Participating in the conference was a beneficial experience that included learning from the sessions that were presented by industry colleagues, meeting with our clients who were in attendance, and to exchange useful information. During the Bright Ideas Showcase, we presented an AI alt text workflow solution designed to support journal publishers, and in the exhibit hall we introduced an alliance with two trusted organizations in the scholarly publishing community that expands the range of options we can offer journal clients beyond the editorial, production, and digital accessibility services for which Westchester is already well regarded.
Monday’s opening events set the tone for the conference with a keynote about trust, community, and collaboration in the next era of publishing, signaling a strong focus on how the industry is adapting to change. From there, attendees had opportunities to learn from experts at sessions that balanced professional growth with practical innovation. Highlights included lightning talks on career development at every stage and a candid discussion of AI in real editorial workflows, exploring what worked, what did not, and what teams learned along the way. Other sessions addressed launching journals, data sharing, multimedia in scholarly publishing, research integrity, mentorship, diversity in peer review, and the growing role of AI in the editor’s workbench. Taken together, these sessions provided a complete picture of a field that is rethinking both its tools and its responsibilities to the scholarly community.
The session with the most significant impact for me was the ethics clinic on authorship, held on the second day of the conference. I have attended countless ‘workshops’ at conferences that were more performative than substantive, with an extended speech followed by a few minutes of a brief exercise to drive home the point before a refreshment break. CSE provided more meaningful opportunities for collaboration than many conferences, delivering an impactful session requiring each table to collaborate on solving or responding to successive real-life scenarios. These hypothetical situations generated authentic discussions between the facilitator and participants, and summed up CSE the most for me. The editors, publishers, and vendors who routinely attend CSE aren’t going there simply to network or earn a certification — they’re doing the hard work that the scientific editorial space demands, and are doing so with determination, authenticity, and sincerity.
Journal publishers with small or medium sized programs often face daunting challenges to deliver content to their audience, and traditional publishing arrangements aren’t always scaled to their needs. To provide independent, non-profit journal publishers with a more flexible, coordinated alternative, Westchester, Scholastica, and the Scholarly Publishing Collective have developed an alliance that offers connected support across the publishing lifecycle. Independent journal publishers or academic societies can select options provided by any or all of the entities, including Scholastica’s peer review and publishing technology, Westchester’s editorial and production expertise, and the Scholarly Publishing Collective’s hosting, fulfillment, and sales capabilities.
You can learn more about the Allied Journal Publishing Solutions in this or contact any one of the participating organizations to explore how it may benefit your program. You can also connect with us at the Society for Scholarly Publishing and the AUP conferences, where we’d love to meet with you and discuss ways we can resolve your publication challenges. If you won’t be at those shows but want to see if this is the solution your journal program has been searching for, let’s talk.
As Alvin Toffler wrote over fifty years ago, “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” The ever-quickening pace of change – and the necessity of adapting to that change – was a main theme of the New Directions in Scholarly Publishing Seminar, held October 4-5, 2023 and hosted by the 
Discussions about artificial intelligence (AI) threaded through most of the presentations. Sessions such as “New Directions in Research Integrity: Values to Value in Research Publishing” and “Authorship in the Age of AI” emphasized embracing new technologies as tools without compromising one’s values or losing touch with the human elements that make scholarly publishing what it is. Dr. Rebecca Brendel, the Director of the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School, delivered the keynote address, “New Directions in Research Integrity: Values to Value in Research and Publishing.” Dr. Brendel reminded all of us that integrity in research depends upon the integrity of individual researchers, administrators, and publishers. And, that core values such as honesty and transparency will be even more critical as AI continues to pervade the research and publication processes. Following the keynote address, Simone Taylor, the Publisher of the American Psychiatric Association, moderated a discussion with Dr. Brendel.
In 2022, we continued our successful partnership with Publishers Weekly, hosting two highly attended and informative webinars. In the spring, panelists Michael Jacobs, Lorraine Shanley, Jessica Ryan and Jim Fetherston discussed how each of their respective areas of the publishing industry were 
Also in the fall, consultant Jay Diskey was a panelist for the Westchester Education Services webinar, 
Our colleagues in the UK expanded their ranks to continue serving the growing client base Westchester works with beyond the North American market. Joining the education team throughout the year were Thomas Storr, Emma Hudson, and Adam Wilkinson. In June, 
As our client base inside the United States has continued to experience stellar growth, several of our US-based editorial and production staff received well-deserved promotions during the year. Some of the long-time employees who are bringing their vast experience into new roles are Terry Colosimo, Scott Keeney, Wendy Muto, Celeste Bilyard, Amanda Montes de Oca, Melody Negron and Erin Davis. Congratulations and continued success!
It was also an exciting spring and summer of growth for the Westchester Education Services team as they welcomed several new people. Content Directors, Jennifer Cole and Laura Cunningham, Senior Editor, Tara Hlavinka, and Director of Client Solutions, Kevin Schroeder all arrived at Westchester in the spring, as shared in 
In June, 
Members of the Westchester Education UK & International, and Westchester Publishing Services UK teams participated in several publishing industry events during the spring, including sponsoring the 
Our Westchester Education Services colleagues were busy attending several industry conferences in-person, including BETT UK in late winter, ASU-GSV in the spring, and several events in late fall, including sponsoring the EdWeek Market Brief Summit in November 
Our podcast episodes are an efficient (15 minutes on average) way to learn about various topics that matter to the publishing, education and ed tech sectors on both sides of the Atlantic. You can find the 
The staff of Westchester are fortunate to be involved in working on thousands of book projects every year and on the other side of it, we enjoy doing our fair share of reading the finished product! See our 
As 2022 comes to a close, and many of us are in the midst of more holiday travel than we’ve done in years, it occurs to me that 2023 may be a year more like the pre-pandemic business years than we have seen in a while. 
Several members of our management team were in attendance at the 47th Annual London Book Fair in April. The Book Fair provided us with the opportunity to affirm our business growth in the UK, formally launching Westchester Publishing Services UK, with Managing Director, Tim Davies. It was a productive event for us, and our preparations are already underway to return next March.
In addition to London Book Fair, Westchester staff attended several conferences and trade shows this spring throughout the U.S., including 
Westchester sponsored production on a 
By providing quality products and services to our valued clients, our business has grown and flourished over the past several years. To further ensure accounts continue to receive the high level of support we pride ourselves on, we recently welcomed Keri Goldberg to our sales and marketing team in the role of Business Development Manager. Current and prospective clients alike will find Keri’s background in publishing to be helpful as they consider prepress solutions for their particular needs. Westchester is also looking for editorial and production talent as various areas of the company expand, visit our 
Our K-12 Services team held their 
Reading isn’t a seasonal pastime, but it seems especially enjoyable to read the latest bestseller or a book from the stack on your nightstand during the somewhat more carefree days of summer. My colleagues and I shared a few of the books we plan to read this summer, along with recommended reading lists in this 