Our Work
For five decades, Layman Publishing Partners and our founding imprint Bruccoli Clark have produced reference and scholarly works recognized among the most significant in the field. The projects below represent the depth, range, and rigor we bring to every engagement.
Selected Projects
The Foundation: Dictionary of Literary Biography
The Challenge
Create and sustain the definitive ongoing literary reference series—a multi-volume, multi-decade program requiring continuous scholar recruitment, rigorous editorial standards, rights management, and production coordination at scale.
- Volume 1 published
- 1978
- Volumes
- 425+
- of scholar partners
- Thousands
View project details
Our Approach
Beginning with Volume 1 in 1978, Bruccoli Clark, the founding imprint of today’s Layman Publishing Partners, built the Dictionary of Literary Biography into the most comprehensive literary reference series ever produced. Over more than four decades, we have recruited and coordinated thousands of scholars at major research universities worldwide, maintained consistent editorial quality across 425+ volumes, and recently directed the full transition from print to digital delivery. The DLB is the publishing program from which the temperament at Layman Publishing Partners grew.
Testimonials
Hands-down the best overall literary reference work ever published, a proverbial diamond as big as the Ritz.
Library Journal
“I have been reading through the whole book, carefully page by page, with great enjoyment. It’s such a rich resource and Patrick Scott has found so many interesting bits and pieces.”
— Professor Graham Tulloch, Emeritus Professor of English, Flinders University
The Expanded Program: Gale Literature Resource Center
The Challenge
Serve as the sole managing producer for one of the world’s most comprehensive literary research databases—a multi-program initiative requiring simultaneous management of editorial development, content creation, rights clearance, digital production, and scholar coordination across millions of words annually.
- Words delivered annually
- 25M+
- Licenses annually
- 3,000+
View project details
Our Approach
Beginning in 2010, Layman Publishing Partners has managed four programs within the Gale Literature Resource Center:
Gale Literature Criticism (GLC)
The largest curated collection of literary commentary in the world. We deliver 25+ million words annually across 100+ volumes, licensing approximately 3,000 critical essays per year.
Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB)
Building on four decades of DLB production, we manage all editorial production, contributor coordination, and quality control for this cornerstone series of 425+ volumes.
Primary Sources & Historical Documents (PS&HD)
Scholar-curated primary source sets for the most-studied literary works. Since launch, the sets have achieved an 88% click-through rate and appear in nearly 60% of most-viewed LRC portals.
Gale College Collection (GCC)
Canonical reading lists in world literature for integration into digital course curricula, identifying authoritative public domain texts for undergraduate use.
Together
- 100M+ words delivered
- Multi-year on-time performance
- $10M+ in documented rights cost savings
Gale Literature Criticism Video
Testimonials
Layman Publishing Partners are experts… my first and only contact for outsourcing.
Lisa Black, Permissions Manager, Princeton University Press
Valuable for all academic libraries with strong literature collections, particularly those serving undergraduates. Highly recommended.
Choice
Award-Winning Institutional Reference: Disability Experiences
The Challenge
Produce a first-of-its-kind scholarly reference work documenting across five centuries life writing by persons with disabilities—a complex editorial and rights challenge requiring extensive contributor coordination and meticulous source documentation.
- Narratives represented
- 15th century–present
- Works covered
- 200
Recognition
- AwardDartmouth Medal Honorable Mention2020 · RUSA/ALA
- AwardPROSE Award FinalistAssociation of American Publishers
- AwardLibrary Journal Best Reference2019“Can’t-Miss Print Titles”
View project details
Our Approach
Layman Publishing Partners managed the full production of Disability Experiences: Memoirs, Autobiographies, and Other Personal Narratives (Gale/Macmillan, 2019), from contributor recruitment, content development, and editorial oversight through rights clearance and digital delivery. The result is an exceptionally rigorous collection spanning the 15th century to the present.
Recognition Details
Dartmouth Medal Honorable Mention — 2020
The most prestigious annual award in reference publishing.
“an exceptionally useful collection of first-person glimpses into the lives of persons with disabilities.”
— Dartmouth Medal committee
Defining the Modern Era: American Decades
The Challenge
Produce a comprehensive, decade-by-decade social history of America in the Modern Era: 12 volumes requiring expert contributor recruitment, rigorous editorial coordination, and consistent production standards across a multi-year program.
- Volumes
- 12
- Program span
- 1994–2022
Recognition
- AwardChoice Outstanding Academic TitleAmerican Decades: 1950–19591995
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Our Approach
Layman Publishing Partners coordinated the full editorial and production program for American Decades (Gale Research, 1994–2022), recruiting and managing specialist editors and contributors for each decade, creating content, engaging in historical research, maintaining editorial consistency across the full series, and delivering all volumes to schedule.
Testimonials
“Their work is of the highest quality.”
— Jill Lectka, Gale-Cengage Learning
From Urgent Request to Annual Tradition: The Wristwatch Annual
The Challenge
Deliver a 350-page illustrated catalogue of mechanical wristwatches in three months, coordinating editors, designers, and image assets across Geneva and New York simultaneously.
- Pages
- 350
- Models
- 1,400+
- Images
- 1,200
View project details
Our Approach
When Abbeville Press came to us with an urgent commission for the Wristwatch Annual, we mobilized immediately. Our team coordinated across time zones to organize, compile, and produce a catalogue covering nearly 140 brands, 1,400+ models, and 1,200 images, delivering a polished, publication-ready book on deadline. The result: a continuing annual engagement. We have produced every edition of the Wristwatch Annual since, refining our workflow and deepening our expertise in illustrated catalogue production.
Testimonials
“It has been a genuine relief to have a reliable, responsive team like that of Layman Publishing Partners, and I am already looking forward to our next collaboration.”
— Marton Radkai, Editor, Wristwatch Annual