In the last few years, The Scholarly Kitchen (TSK) has grown and expanded in many ways, from launching a guest-blogger program to establishing an advisory board (The Kitchen Cabinet). Our latest investment is hiring a Deputy Editor to support Chefs, guest bloggers, and our editorial team — and we are pleased to announce the appointment of Lettie Conrad as our inaugural Deputy Editor/“Sous Chef.”

Lettie will officially don her editorial toque at SSP’s Annual Meeting in Baltimore. As the Kitchen prepares to make room for this new role, Lettie and David sat down to chat about how this new position will work with the TSK community. 

David: For many years, Angela Cochran served as my out-of-office backup and everyone at TSK wants to express their gratitude to Angela for always being there, just in case. But we’ve come to realize that there’s a lot more we could be doing in the Kitchen, and (in keeping with our titular metaphor) a lot of plates to keep spinning. And so we have decided to formalize the role of the TSK Deputy Editor. 

We put out a call for applicants, and heard from 19 ridiculously qualified individuals, many of whom I’m hoping will accept my invitation to become regular Chefs in the Kitchen. But eventually, the group chairing the search chose Lettie Conrad, as she was the only candidate who had experience in every category we were looking for, from running a publication (Lettie was North American Editor for Learned Publishing for six years), to writing regularly for the Kitchen, to intimate knowledge of WordPress authoring tools, and a strong network across our community. And so I’m thrilled to announce that Lettie will now be part of the team running the show at TSK.  

Lettie: I am over the moon to take on the challenge of this new role! Joining the TSK editorial team is an exciting opportunity to learn from the amazingly smart and driven people who contribute to the blog — and I hope to learn the recipe for the secret sauce that makes this publication impactful and inspiring for our community.

I’m especially looking forward to bringing some of my signature spice to the Kitchen — from putting data to work in delivering a great human-centered product, to wielding spreadsheets like a professional cook operates her chef’s knife. I can hardly wait to launch my TSK to-do list, which includes establishing regular outreach to all contributors to share impact metrics about their posts and recruiting new bloggers from across the various organizations that make scholarly communications possible. 

David: Looking ahead, I’m excited, both to having Lettie take on some of the day-to-day here at TSK which will open up my time for more writing and experimentation with our content, as well as the new projects Lettie will spearhead that are already in discussion.

Lettie: Writing for TSK over the last 10 years has been an educational and enriching experience, so I’m eager to share that excitement with others who haven’t yet cooked up some content with us. And I’m looking forward to learning from David, the Cabinet, and all the amazing leaders who make TSK such an important venue of dialogue in our industry.

David: And as always, there are many ways to get more involved in the Kitchen. We are always looking for new voices and new content, so please consider writing a Guest Post. And if you enjoy that process and have more to say, the path to becoming a regular Chef in the Kitchen is open to all as well.