Dear colleagues,

I am pleased to announce the moving forward of the first publication produced by the members of the INDOLOGY list, the re-formatted version of Speijer's classic Sanskrit Syntax. This project is, as Dr Wujastyk suggested, a "proof of concept" for a new era in book publication. We propose to bring out this publication entirely through our own efforts, utilizing the resources that have become available in the 21st century (OCR, cloud computing, affordable print-on-demand, etc.). This experiment may be a harbinger for the possibility of an "INDOLOGY Press" -- in-house publications of the work of list members or other scholars approved by list members (who perform the function of "gatekeeping"). I see no reason why such a press could not acquire the prestige of any other academic press, and instead of selling our rights to profit-making entities (e.g. Springer), we retain our rights and whatever revenues come from our publications, if any. With print-on-demand, we need not worry about losses, other than the time we spend, which in a collaborative model will not be an unreasonable investment.

Our plan is to produce a version of Speijer appealing to graduate students today and useful for linguists generally. The book will be offered for free in soft copy and for a reasonable price through print-on-demand. We have received offers of help with proofreading etc. that are much appreciated, and we are happy to receive more such offers, especially from those versed with solving the technical challenges that may crop up.

If I may offer an optimistic benediction: May the success of this experiment contribute to a revolution in academic publishing that benefits all us!

best wishes,

Chris Wallis

UC Berkeley