Peritext of trade-crossover books: A case study of University of British Columbia Press

This project report explores the peritexts of books published by the University of British Columbia Press. Although university presses' main output has historically been the monograph, other options had to be explored to overcome the financial pressures that weighed on the sector in the 1970s and 1980s. One was to acquire and develop titles with the potential to cross academe borders and reach general readers – the trade-crossovers. Such books bear signs of a deliberate strategy adopted by publishers and editors to make them more engaging and accessible. The changes happen not only to the main text but also to its surroundings, such as to titles, intertitles, tables of contents, epigraphs, and notes. A comparison between monographs and crossovers from UBC Press reveals some of the publisher's strategies to reframe their books by moulding what Gérard Genette calls "peritext." Through manipulating these elements, editors have been able to expand audiences, proving that crossovers have been helping UBC Press to both fulfill its mandate and achieve its financial goals.