In 2020 UK scholarly publisher Emerald piloted outsourcing publication management to “publishing partners’ in India”

The pilot was successful and so Emerald restructured its content management team. Problem is the un-named publishing partners in India are feeling the impact of the pandemic.

And so Emerald director Tony Roche warns authors, “it is physically not possible for our publishing partners to consistently maintain usual service levels. This will mean “some delay, specifically in the production process … until this current wave subsides.”

“Our publishing partners are actively recruiting to ensure operations continue in light of absences directly related to the pandemic,” Mr Roche writes. But, “there may be a longer time to publication for authors.”