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Contribution short abstract:

This presentation outlines the role played by anthropological (diamond) journals in training anthropologists on publishing, and calls for expanding their training capacity for early career scholars, especially in diamond journals that are inherently open, free, critical, and socially relevant.

Contribution long abstract:

How we are being trained in publishing our anthropological research? This is a rhetorical question as much of publishing issues are self-taught along the way. There is not a consistent coaching programs to fully understand the publishing practices and the voracious system in which it is embedded. Yet, if existent, it is approached in a one-shot format, for example, in short modules attached to research syllabi on methods for graduate students, briefly discussed within writing labs for postgraduate researchers, coached in national or international anthropological events in the form of workshops about “how to make publishable your research”, or in self-help books about writing and publishing. Of course, there are some exceptions, when committed teachers and mentors (maybe interested in being co-authors with their mentees) and dedicated editorial boards (maybe interested in having texts for their beloved journals), take a long time for hands-on support on early career researchers to make “publishable” their first texts. Often, these dedicated editorial boards are also early career researchers themselves, working voluntarily in supporting their peers, and making a thankless and offstage training contribution. This presentation is grounded on my own experience as the main editor of the journal Perifèria (2018-2021), as well as my position as an early career researcher working in the so-called publish or perish academic bubble. I call for the necessity of expanding the training capacity for early career scholars in anthropological journals, especially in diamond journals that are inherently pursuing open, free, critical, and socially relevant research.