December 14, 2021 – Miranda Martin, Editor in Physical and Life Sciences for Columbia University Press, recently signed seasoned science writer Lisa M.P. Munoz to a contract for worldwide rights for her first book, tentatively titled A New Picture of a Scientist: Creating a New Culture for Science That Overcomes Obstacles in Equity. The signing includes a collaboration with the Picture a Scientist film team to expand on materials from their award-winning independent film, which chronicles the groundswell of researchers who are writing a new chapter for women scientists. Through personal stories and data, the book will illuminate the scale and scope of harassment and discrimination faced by women in science while interweaving research-based solutions to make the culture of science more diverse, inclusive, and equitable for everyone. The book is tentatively scheduled for release in the fall of 2022.
Martin says of the book, “This is a really exciting project for the Columbia University Press science list. The book will build from the film and move beyond it, continuing to push the conversation forward.”
“The film Picture a Scientist beautifully captures the complexity of the obstacles facing women in science,” Munoz says. “With this book, I want to continue to bring more people to the problem to solve it, by sharing new and groundbreaking work in the behavioral sciences that is leading the way for a more equitable future for all scientists.”
Directed by Sharon Shattuck and Ian Cheney, the film Picture a Scientist received a 2021 AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award, was an official selection of the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, and had its U.S. broadcast premiere on PBS Nova in April 2021. It is currently available for viewing on Netflix. The Boston Globe called the film “Quietly devastating.”
About Columbia University Press
Founded in 1893, Columbia University Press advances world knowledge through essential writing and research focusing on the global, the urban, and the contemporary. Our books and electronic resources bring new ideas and foundational understanding to a diverse and engaged readership of the intellectually curious, both within and across academic disciplines and other conventional boundaries. We embody our parent institution’s educational and research mission as well as its international reputation. Columbia University Press is one of the oldest and largest university presses in the United States.
Notable highlights in Columbia University Press’s history include the publication of the Columbia Encyclopedia in 1935; the acquisition of The Columbia Granger’s Index to Poetry in 1945; the introduction of the three Sources anthologies of Chinese, Japanese, and Indian classic works in the 1950s; and, over the years, the publication of works by numerous eminent thinkers. For more information, visit their website.
About the Author
Lisa M.P. Munoz has translated complex scientific topics into digestible stories for broad audiences throughout her twenty-year career. Munoz began her career as a radio producer, then worked as a magazine reporter and editor for Geotimes magazine; served as a press officer for the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva, Switzerland; and founded a science communications consulting firm. As founder and president of SciComm Services, Inc., Munoz works with academic groups, nonprofits, and startups across the sciences on strategic communication and content development. She was the publicist and outreach producer for Picture a Scientist. Munoz has an engineering degree from Cornell University with a specialization in science writing and is a member of the National Association of Science Writers and the Authors Guild.