Trailblazers

Trailblazers is a collaborative publishing initiative between Liverpool University Press and the Universities of Wolverhampton, Lancaster, Liverpool, Reading, Salford and Liverpool John Moores University. The scheme offers early career researchers the opportunity to publish their first solo-authored monograph open access. Trailblazers participants also benefit from a series of publishing masterclasses to develop the skills and knowledge to publish successfully throughout their careers.

Places on the initiative for University of Wolverhampton are dependent upon available funding, but we hope to fund at least one monograph each year.

What does the scheme offer?

If you are selected for the scheme, you will experience a transparent publication process that includes:

• proposal and manuscript peer review
• editorial guidance from senior commissioning editors
• professional copy-editing and typesetting
• marketing and publication of an open access edition of your work

A series of masterclasses by publishing and library professionals will cover everything from how to write a proposal and turn a dissertation into a book, right through to how to index and what alt-text means. There will also be invaluable guidance on marketing, library collection management, research metrics, and how an open access monograph will benefit your research career.

Your monograph will be published by Liverpool University Press online and in print, and you will receive royalties from the sales of your book.  

Who can apply?

Trailblazers is open to applications from Early Career Researchers at the University of Wolverhampton.

To be eligible you need to meet the following criteria:

• You are employed or registered as a student at the University of Wolverhampton
• You have not previously published a book, monograph or longform output for which you are the sole author
• You meet the UKRI definition of being an Early Career Researcher

To meet the definition of ECR you must be:

Within eight years of your PhD award (this is from the time of the PhD ‘viva’ oral test), or equivalent professional training

or

Within six years of your first academic appointment* (the first full or part time paid employment contract that lists research or teaching as the primary function).

*These periods exclude any career break, for example due to: family care, health reasons, or reasons related to COVID-19 such as home schooling or increased teaching load.

Publication criteria

The following conditions apply to the monograph:

• A subject area in the Arts, Humanities or Social Sciences (to fit with the topics published by LUP)
• A total word length between 80,000 and 100,000 words
• A maximum of 20 black and white images
• The proposal or manuscript should not be under consideration for publication elsewhere
• Your work must adhere to the guidelines set out by COPE in their position statement on authorship and AI tools. You will also need to confirm that you have read Liverpool University Press’s publication ethics document and AI policy.

How to apply

Early Career Researchers who would like to be considered for the initiative can begin the process by submitting an application form for consideration by 5pm on Monday 13^th April 2026 to WIRE@wlv.ac.uk.

Applications will be reviewed internally and forwarded to Liverpool University Press for consideration. Successful applicants will be notified in early May.

If you are selected to join Trailblazers you will then be asked to develop a proposal by Liverpool University Press which they will assess after peer review in August/September. Once your proposal is approved by LUP’s Editorial Advisory Board, you will be offered a contract for your monograph.

Further information

For general questions relating to the scheme or the application process please contact the Scholarly Communications Team at wire@wlv.ac.uk

Any questions relating to publishing with LUP can be emailed to  Alison Welsby, Editorial Director at LUP: awelsby@liverpool.ac.uk

Alison Welsby from LUP will be delivering an online presentation to interested ECRs on Wednesday 18^th February from 1-1.45pm. If you are interested in attending, please e-mail the Scholarly Communications team at WIRE@wlv.ac.uk to reserve a place.