Academic authors in the humanities and social sciences often wait three or more years to see the first reviews of their scholarly monographs. Why does it take so long? As Oona Schmid, director of publishing at the American Anthropological Association (AAA), describes in this issue brief, it is because book reviewing still relies on a print-centric system. Thanks to funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the AAA is now developing a prototype to completely re-imagine the book review process to make it both “faster and cheaper.” With a speedier book revew workflow in place, Scmid argues, publishers, authors, and the larger scholarly community all stand to gain.

For more information about the AAA’s new book review prototype or to get involved, email Oona Schmid.