In this presentation, Judith Fathallah argues that "the authors of academic works and textbooks have a role to play and a degree of agency" in their publishing choices, and that OA publishing should be a route more open to, and more adopted by, academics. Fathallah shares some of her own experiences as an author, and details the advantages of OA publishing. Fathallah also introduces the work of the Open Book Collective (a partner on Copim's Open Book Futures research project) and other organisations working to support community-led, open and equitable OA book publishing. This presentation was delivered at Coventry University on 22 October 2024, as part of the event: "Coventry Open Press Conversations: 'Everything you ever wanted to know about OA publishing, but were afraid to ask (in 90 minutes)'".

The Open Book Futures project is co-funded by Arcadia and Research England Development (RED) Fund (UKRI). Arcadia is a charitable foundation that works to protect nature, preserve cultural heritage and promote open access to knowledge. Since 2002 Arcadia has awarded more than $1 billion to organizations around the world. Research England Development (RED) Fund (UKRI) is a fund supporting institutional-level innovative projects in research and knowledge exchange including collaborations between education providers and between education providers and business.