Offscreen Ebooks

Offscreen is looking to initiate a series of open access film ebooks which will be free to download, and available in various file format options (epub, mobi, PDF, etc.). In keeping with the ‘free’ aspect, you will be able to read these books with one of several free apps and programmes available to read epub documents on your computer, tablet or smartphone (Calibre, Alfa Ebooks Manager, Amazon Reader, Adobe Reader, etc.).

The idea behind the Offscreen ebook venture is to provide a ‘home’ or outlet for books that have not seen the light of day for a host of reasons: too esoteric to be economically viable for a commercial publisher; limited in appeal; odd in the length; or as yet not translated into English. With disciplines across film and cultural studies forever intersecting and branching outwards, and conventional areas of research growing larger and wider, it became apparent that many of these potential books could find their niche audience. With online resources bearing more and more of the burden for how people (students or general public) search for and acquire knowledge, the time seemed right to take advantage of the relative ease of online publishing.

There are still some technical and logistical issues that need to be worked out before this venture bears its first fruit, but the path is being set for what will hopefully be an extension of Offscreen’s mandate of providing its readers with (for the time being, free) serious, instructional, entertaining and enlightening writing on cinema. Stay tuned for more. When the first book becomes available subscribers will be notified.