Abstract
Hybrid publishing has become one of the most debated models in contemporary publishing, sitting at the intersection of traditional, self-, and open access pathways. Defined by the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) as an author-subsidized model that maintains professional editorial, production, and distribution standards, hybrid publishing disrupts inherited notions of legitimacy, authority, and cultural value. While often dismissed as “vanity publishing,” many hybrid publishers uphold rigorous vetting and professional practices while offering authors greater creative agency and higher royalties. This paper explores how hybrid publishing is framed and contested in professional, institutional, and public discourse. Drawing on rhetorical analysis, digital ethnography, and author interviews, it investigates how legitimacy and stigma are negotiated in ways that reveal deeper cultural tensions: between democratization and gatekeeping, vocational practice and academic rigor, and commercial viability and cultural value. By situating hybrid publishing within the broader social practice of publishing, this paper highlights its significance as more than an alternative business model. It demonstrates how hybrid publishing reshapes access to cultural production, challenges entrenched hierarchies and reconfigures the role of publishers as mediators of social knowledge. The paper argues that Publishing Studies must take hybrid models seriously as they seek to exist beyond the peripheral or anomalous realms of the industry, as critical spaces where power, authorship, and knowledge are actively redefined. In doing so, hybrid publishing becomes a lens for examining broader questions of equity, legitimacy, and creative agency in a polarized information landscape.
Presenters
Brittany GriffithsSenior Manager of Operations, Brown Books Publishing Group , Texas, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2026 Special Focus—Beyond Borders: Democratizing Knowledge in a Polarized World
KEYWORDS
Hybrid publishing, Legitimacy and stigma, Authorship and authority, Knowledge democratization
