Since the handbook came out in December 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic has been going on worldwide. Although we gave some book talks at a few universities, we could not have an onsite book launch to celebrate the handbook’s publication with our authors.

Therefore, we decided to organize an online event. As the second best option, we invited all authors to join us for a celebration via Zoom on May 18. The intercontinental celebration featured toasts and short thank you speeches, but most importantly offered authors the chance to get to know each other or meet friends during breakout sessions. While colleagues from the US had their morning coffee, authors from Asia and Australia enjoyed their after work beer.

Although the Covid-19 pandemic and the current situation with regard to vaccination in the different countries was a big topic, some authors also shared their experiences with using the handbook in class. We are looking forward to a real book launch party, hopefully in the near future.