Oct 13, 2016

Policy Press and the University of Bristol Announce New Publishing Venture

Policy Press, IPG/Frankfurt Book Fair Academic and Professional Publisher of the Year 2016, together with the University of Bristol, one of the most popular universities in the UK, are proud to announce the creation of the University of Bristol Press.

University of Bristol Press (UBP) represents a natural next stage in the development of Policy Press, a publisher with an outstanding 20-year record of high-impact book and journal publishing and an explicit mission to help influence positive social change.

It also reflects the commitment of the University of Bristol to support the creation and dissemination of the highest quality research throughout the world and to encouraging teaching and learning innovation. As such, the UBP is also a key component of the University of Bristol’s new vision and strategy.

Professor Hugh Brady, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Bristol, said:

"For the past 20 years, Policy Press has been enriching academic and broader social debate in the United Kingdom and around the world. We are delighted, therefore, to invest in the future of the press and to expand its remit, under the new University of Bristol Press, to encompass a broader range of scholarship of the highest quality. At this exciting time for the University of Bristol, the establishment of UBP is an ideal way to promote the values and mission of the University worldwide."

At the core of UBP, the Policy Press imprint will remain focused on its core social agenda. Its reach and overall impact potential will be enhanced as a result of substantial new investment by the University in staff and systems across all of the press’s functions.

With the ability to publish under the UBP name in addition to the Policy Press imprint, the press will be able to expand its publishing into new subject areas, accessing a broader range of scholarship. The expanded press will be dynamic, innovative, and responsive to the changing needs of the scholarly community internationally.

Alison Shaw, Director of Policy Press, said:

"Policy Press is a great springboard from which to create a new university press that can respond to the immense changes and opportunities in academia and scholarly publishing. University presses are a crucial part of our intellectual, social and cultural landscape, and it is an exciting privilege to play a larger role in it than ever before. I am enormously proud of what we have achieved, and excited about the future."

Professor Danny Dorling of the University of Oxford and a Policy Press author, added:

"This is a great opportunity to grow the Policy Press model of intensive author engagement and service into a larger and wider international university press, one which sees all its books as unique and sets the highest standards. University presses are vital to set the gold standard on quality, authenticity, relevance and applicability in publishing scholarship now and for the future."

Download a pdf of the press release here.