The Authority File often looks at the intersection between conventional modes of research and creative mediums like art, poetry, or song. This month’s series continues that tradition with Beth Driscoll, Associate Professor of Publishing and Communications at the University of Melbourne, and Claire Squires, Professor of Publishing Studies at the University of Stirling, and the editors of The Frankfurt Kabuff Critical Edition. The title came about during the second year of Beth and Claire’s field work at the Frankfurt Book Fair. When one claimed the other’s writing was too “exciting” for a conference paper abstract, they decided to embrace it. This resulted in The Frankfurt Kabuff, a comic erotic thriller analyzing the publishing industry. This September, the critical edition arrived, including annotated text, academic essays, and more.

This four-part series digs into the making of the novella and the benefits of disrupting the standards and formats of scholarly communication. The episodes also explore Beth and Claire’s manifesto, Ullapoolism, and how it criticizes and reflects on the scholarly workflow in their fields. Further, while they acknowledge the value of conventional scholarship, Beth and Claire advocate for trying out new ideas and sharing them with your peers, arguing that worrying too much about craft can slow the process or even inhibit the original insight from coming to fruition.

In this first episode, Beth and Claire discuss The Frankfurt Kabuff’s genesis at the fair and its publishing process from Wattpad to print and ebook self-publication to its critical edition with Wilfrid Laurier University Press. They also examine how the medium of fiction allowed them a unique method to express their scholarship and the ways in which the critical edition of the novella enhances key concepts of the story.

Missed an episode? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, Choice Podcast Updates, and check out the Authority File Round-Up on our blog, Open Stacks!