Seeking Manuscript Proposals for Upcoming Book on LGBT issues in Public Relations

Due August 1, 2016

Natalie Tindall and Richard Waters, editors of Coming out of the Closet: Exploring LGBT Issues in Strategic Communication with Theory and Research, are soliciting brief proposals (title and 1,000 word synopsis) for research chapters to be included in an upcoming edited volume that focuses on public relations theory and concepts as they relate to the LGBT community, organizations, individual practitioners, and campaigns.

While there have been an increasing number of articles and chapters published on LGBT issues in public relations outlets, this audience is still largely ignored by scholarly research.  The goal of this project is to increase scholarly examination of LGBT communities, employees, volunteers, and external publics and stakeholders from a public relations perspective. This edited book will focus on a variety of topics, including (but not limited to):

• Employment and workplace issues of LGBT employees
• Community-building strategies with PRIDE campaigns/events
• Content analyses of LGBT events’ promotional messages or even media coverage of LGBT events/spokespeople
• Career experiences and workplace identity
• Activism strategies (e.g., gay marriage debate, bathroom legislations, fair housing policies)
• Communication strategy with crossing over from LGBT media to mainstream media
• Corporate Social Responsibility and LGBT inclusion (employees, external communities)
• Media relations efforts of LGBT organizations (e.g., agenda setting and agenda building)
• Characteristics of LGBT PR practitioners
• Content analysis of LGBT PRSA Anvil Winning campaigns
• Organizational reactions to social/political efforts (e.g., advocacy, publicity–message design)
• Relationship management strategies for LGBT publics
• Case studies of LGBT-targeted campaigns
• Inclusion of LGBT matters into public relations classrooms and pedagogy
• Messaging and relationship-building strategies for different audiences within the broader LGBT community

By no means is this list exhaustive, and the editors are open to more ideas. The editors are open and want to include a variety of research methods and research perspectives for this book.

Please submit your working title and a synopsis by August 1, 2016. Also, the editors will meet with any submitters who are attending the 2016 Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication convention to discuss the book and proposed chapter.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the co-editors: Natalie Tindall at drnatalietjtindall@gmail.com and Richard Waters at Rdwaters@usfca.edu.