Annual reports aren't exactly beach reading, but for anyone interested in the current condition of scholarly communication, the just-published 2007 report of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation--particularly the essay on "Scholarly Publishing Initiatives" by Donald J. Waters and Joseph S. Meisel--is a page turner. The foundation's deep pockets and commitment to humanistic research give Mellon a unique role in the university-press world. It's part fairy godmother, part life coach, and part enigmatic guru. When Mellon speaks, presses listen--and this year Mellon has spoken more frankly than usual, pushing its constituents to learn how to work better together, while reassuring them that what they do is vital and should endure. Nearly a year has passed since the foundation made the first awards in two new series of publishing grants: one designed to get presses to collaborate on new series of monographs by junior scholars in underserved areas of the humanities, and the other to persuade presses to partner with their home institutions on projects that further the scholarly agendas of both.