Sensitivity reading is an increasingly valuable editorial practice, with many publishers and presses advising that authors and editors, especially those writing on experiences outside of their own background, seek out the services of appropriately placed, skilled readers. The conversation on diversity (or lack thereof) in publishing has highlighted the urgent need for nuanced and inclusive dialogue when representing marginalized individuals, communities, and their experiences.
At Lex Academic, we work with expert readers who will address material with sensitivity, care, and scholarly rigour to draw attention to problematic, offensive, reductive, or misrepresentative content. This ensures that research is fair and accountable, steering the author away from infelicitous speech and unconscious bias that can result in peddling and perpetuating harmful stereotypes, tropes, or clichés. This ensures positive and engaged uptake of your work and ideas, thereby increasing the chances of a fruitful global conversation around it.
Our diverse beta readers are leading experts in their fields, bringing a wealth of subject knowledge and editorial expertise. While no individual can, or can be expected to, represent their entire community, our readers afford to the reading and development of your work a salient diversity of backgrounds and valuable, practical insights. Alongside our targeted beta reading, we provide incisive feedback and critical guidance to ensure that your ideas are judiciously and responsibly expressed.
Read our latest blog post on the value of sensitivity readers.
Our sensitivity services cover a wide range of academic fields. These include anthropology, ethnography, moral and political philosophy, hermeneutics and classics, social science, disability studies, critical race theory, theology and the study of religions, literary criticism, cultural studies, gender theory, data modelling, psychology and mental health sciences, psychogeography, artificial intelligence, aesthetics, and filmography. We bring these same sensitivities to bear on fictional works, including novels, short stories, screenplays, scripts, and audiobooks. Please make enquiries if you would like to know more of what we can offer you in terms of sensitivity areas.
For edited volumes (e.g., Cultural Heritage Ethics), we can assign different expert readers to each chapter, thereby ensuring that all sensitive material is monitored and moderated as needed.
Alongside a comprehensive beta reading report, we will engage with your manuscript through in-text changes (where needed), logging our queries using Microsoft Word’s Track Changes and commenting facilities. This enables you to follow our beta reading process, and facilitating a dialogue with your Editorial Project Manager.
Can we help with anything else?
Ensure your entire manuscript is submission-ready with our bespoke Indexing service. We also purvey extraordinary academic Proofreading and Substantive Editing. Our impeccable author services include correcting all typographical, spelling, and grammatical errors. Where desired, we can make stylistic and substantive changes to your work that promise a powerful first impression with major publishers. Our authors have published with all of the top-tier publishing houses, including Bloomsbury, Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Penguin, Peter Lang, Princeton University Press, and Routledge.
Authors or publishers interested in our services should get in touch with our Managing Editor detailing their editorial requirements and publication ambitions.
