FEMS and Blackwell in Publishing Partnership

["Peters Dawn" <DPeters@bos.blackwellpublishing.com>]

News Release

Media Contacts: 	 
Emily Gillingham
Blackwell Publishing, Oxford
Tel: +44 (0)1865 476425	
emily.gillingham@oxon.blackwellpublishing.com
	 
Dawn Peters
Blackwell Publishing, Boston
Tel: +1-781-388-8334	
dpeters@bos.blackwellpublishing.com

For Immediate Release

Federation of European Microbiological Societies Selects Blackwell
Publishing
 
5 titles added to publisher's extensive science collection

Oxford, United Kingdom - February 3, 2005 - The Federation of European
Microbiological Societies (FEMS) and Blackwell Publishing today announced
a new publishing partnership.  The federation selected global society
publisher, Blackwell Publishing, to publish its five journals: FEMS
Microbiology Letters, FEMS Microbiology Reviews, FEMS Microbiology
Ecology, FEMS Immunology and Medical Microbiology, and FEMS Yeast
Research.  Blackwell will take over publication of the journals from
Elsevier in January 2006.

"Blackwell Publishing has a strong position in the marketplace, and have a
great reputation for fair pricing and giving strong support for society
journals," said FEMS Publications Manager, John Fry.  "We believe the
company is best suited to provide marketing and journal development
strategies that ensure the long-term success of the journals."

Ren� Olivieri, Blackwell Publishing's CEO, noted that "our ability to
understand the needs of societies better than any other publisher and
deliver the quality services they expect is the reason why so many
societies turn to Blackwell."  A primary contributor to the society
proposal, Sue Corbett, Director of Academic and Science Journals added, "I
am confident that FEMS will find us to be a trusted partner, and one that
will work closely with them to achieve the federation's objectives."

The five FEMS journals will join the Blackwell collection which includes
over 275 titles in science and medicine.  Access to the journals is
provided through membership of the federation's affiliated societies.  
Currently 47 microbiological societies from 36 countries belong to FEMS
whose mission supports microbiology by enhancing the interaction and
communication between European microbiologists.

About The Federation of European Microbiological Societies

The Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS) is devoted to
the promotion of microbiology in Europe. FEMS is currently linking 47
microbiological societies, encouraging joint activities, facilitating
communication among microbiologists, supporting meetings and laboratory
courses, providing fellowships, and publishing journals and books.  For
more details visit www.fems-microbiology.org.

About Blackwell Publishing

Blackwell Publishing is the world's leading society publisher, partnering
with more than 600 academic and professional societies.  Blackwell
publishes over 750 journals and 600 text and reference books annually,
across a wide range of academic, medical, and professional subjects.  The
company remains independent with over 900 staff members in offices in the
US, UK, Australia, China, Denmark, Germany, and Japan.  Blackwell's
mission as an expert publisher is to create long-term partnerships with
our clients that enhance learning, disseminate research, and improve the
quality of professional practice.  For more information on Blackwell
Publishing, please visit www.blackwellpublishing.com or
www.blackwell-synergy.com.

About the Journals

FEMS Microbiology Letters is an international journal of reports on all
microbiological research and the chief editor is Dr. Jeff Cole at the
School of Biosciences at The University of Birmingham, UK.

FEMS Microbiology Reviews publishes reviews focused on all areas of
microbiology and is devoted to current interest topics and is in the top
100 international science journals ranked by citation.  The chief editor
is Dr. Ram�n Diaz Oreja from the Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas,
Madrid, Spain.

FEMS Microbiology Ecology publishes original articles pertaining to the
fundamental aspects of the ecology of micro-organisms in natural soil, air
or aquatic environments, or in artificial or managed environments.  The
chief editor for this journal is Dr. Ralf Conrad from MPI f�r
Terrestrische Mikrobiologie in Germany.

FEMS Immunology and Medical Microbiology aims to ensure efficient
publication of high quality, original research papers and mini reviews
dealing with immunology and medical microbiology, and especially the
interface between the two.  The journal focuses on correlates of infection
and protection, mechanisms of pathogenesis and host-pathogenesis and
host-pathogen interactions of medically relevant viruses, bacteria, fungi
and protozoa.  The chief editor of this journal is Dr. Alex van Belkum
from the Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases department at the
Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

FEMS Yeast Research publishes high-quality original research papers and
mini reviews that cover both yeast and yeast-like organisms. Its aim is to
cover the entire field of yeast research in its broadest sense. The
audience of the journal includes yeast researchers in academic
institutions, but also those that use yeast as a model organism or work in
industry.  The chief editor is Ir Lex Scheffers at Delft University of
Technology in The Netherlands.

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