Why publish?

This article is based on my inaugural professorial lecture, given atGoldsmiths, University of London and timed in order to coincide with the launch of our new digital first – by which we mean digital-led – university press, Goldsmiths Press. My aim was to examine the politics of communication that attend the current conditions of writing, research, and publishing within the academy and beyond. I wanted to explore the ‘why publish?’ question when, on one hand, it might seem easier to list the reasons for authors and publishers to avoid doing so, and when, on the other hand, the answer would appear to be already known.