Three collaborative publishing projects

At most publishers, the standard route to publishing a book is for authors to submit their manuscript, which is then reviewed by an editor (e.g., me) to see if it is suitable. Then, scholarly publishers like City University of Hong Kong Press perform additional vetting procedures, such as academic peer review and approval by an editorial committee.

However, sometimes we also publish books in collaboration with important people or organizations, where the process is a bit different. This year, we've released three new English titles that were commissioned or arranged by three very different stakeholders.

The first was an English version of a book previously published in Chinese, Hand-in-Hand for Benevolence: 150 Years of History of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals of Hong Kong 1870-2020, together with Tung Wah Group of Hospitals. The original author of the book, a historian and member of the Legislative Council, was not very involved in this translation project. Instead, I worked with the hospital group staff as well as some freelance English editors to refine the content. (Side note: My daughter was born at one of the hospitals mentioned in the book, and my second should be as well).

Another translated project, Understanding Gorbachev: Corresponding with the Former President of the Soviet Union was arranged by the Lam Kin Chung Morning Sun Charity Fund. Its founder obtained the rights to translate the original Russian version into English and Chinese from Gorbachev himself. Once the translation was complete, I worked with a freelance English editor to finetune the text before publication.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the CityUHK Doctor of Business Administration program, the College of Business approached our press with the idea for two commemorative volumes. The English version, From Insight to Impact: How 20 Executives Transformed Business Through Research, was published first this July, and the Chinese version will be published later on. A collection of feature articles about program alumni, it was a fairly straightforward project to work on, except for the tight timeline.