Will Bergkamp, Publisher and Managing Director at Fortress Press, sits down with Denis R. Janz, Loyola University New Orleans, to talk about his contributions to Christian history scholarship at Fortress Press, both past and forthcoming:
Will Bergkamp: Start at the beginning. But briefly! How did your association with Fortress Press start?
Denis Janz: In 1997, Michael West, legendary Fortress editor, suggested I put together an anthology of primary sources on the Reformation. Two years later (1999), my Reformation Reader appeared. The most important lesson I learned: when editors make suggestions for improving this or that, they’re more often right than wrong. Suppress your knee-jerk defensive reaction and think it over.
Will Bergkamp: One of your major projects with Fortress was the People’s History of Christianity series. In fact, Fortress has several new versions planned for that series. How did that series come about? What was the process? What were the challenges? What were the highlights?
Denis Janz: It sounds like a cliché, I know, but it’s true: in a bar, after a long day of meetings at the 2001 AAR in Denver, Michael West and I sketched out the basic plan on a soggy napkin. Greatest highlight: working on a collaborative venture with about 100 first rate scholars! Greatest challenge: maintaining my balance. By that I mean having enough self-confidence to make difficult decisions, and enough humility to truly listen and learn.
Will Bergkamp: As an editor with several projects under your belt, what should an aspiring series editor look for in a publisher? In an editor?
Denis Janz: This may sound crass to academics, but, if you have a choice, choose a publisher that cares about marketing. To add the obvious: don’t do it for the money. Do it because you want your series to have an impact—on your discipline or on a wider readership. Without marketing, the most fabulous series ends up as landfill. As for an editor, look for one who will give you free rein (good luck!). But maybe even more important, look for one whose instincts you respect.
Will Bergkamp: What are the ingredients of effective collaboration?
Denis Janz: Here are the rules that occur to me first:
−If you think you know everything, suppress this
−If you respect the expertise of others, let them know it
−If you respect the brilliance of others, let them know it
−If you respect anything about others, let them know it
−Humor can defuse almost any interpersonal crisis
−If that doesn’t work, try honesty
And that’s only the beginning.
Will Bergkamp: What are you working on now?
Denis Janz: A new monograph series entitled The Christian Self-Understanding: Historical Trajectories. The first 10 volumes are already under contract; they deal with the classical loci in the theological tradition. Once again, the immutable law for series editors has impressed itself on me: "more work upfront = fewer headaches later on" (i.e. extreme care and caution in appointing authors minimizes grief in the final editorial stages of the project).
Click the below links to see information on the author's three new projects:
A People's History of Christianity: One Volume Student Edition