by Nicola Ramsey
2024 is a milestone year for Edinburgh University Press as we celebrate 75 years of books, journals and engaging with the academic community. This January we’re reflecting on recent successes as well as looking forward.
Our 75th anniversary sees the Press in the second year of an ambitious five-year strategic plan with the vision of connecting people and ideas to inspire creative thinking, open new perspectives and shape the world we live in. Our goals align to one or both of our twin pillars – mission and business sustainability.
With a team of 54 people we currently publish around 300 new books and 56 journals each year, with our portfolio available online and in print. In the early days our book publishing represented an eclectic mix of subjects – we could quite literally say we published on everything from Archaeology to Zoology. We have refined this over the years, recognising that the best way to develop a reputation and profile is by building strength in depth. Consequently, we now focus on 10 core areas in the arts, humanities and social sciences. If you keep a close eye on our blog this year you can find out more about each of these.
This year we host and programme University Press Redux, a biennial conference which will gather colleagues from across the scholarly publishing world. We’re future-proofing our business by implementing new systems to integrate work across teams and allow greater collaboration. We’re expanding our commitment to Open Access with our second year of funding for local authors, the launch of our Subscribe to Open trial and sharing our Open Access hub. And of course we’ll be celebrating our 75-year history at conferences and events throughout the year.
Key dates in the history of Edinburgh University Press
1596: The first book associated with the University of Edinburgh is published
1637: The University grants George Anderson permission to set up a printing press in the College buildings
1949: Edinburgh University Press Ltd is established by the University Court
2001: EUP becomes a wholly owned subsidiary business of the University of Edinburgh
2002: Polygon, the Scottish fiction and non-fiction imprint, is sold as part of a strategic review to focus the business on academic and scholarly publishing
2004: EUP secures charitable status
2013: EUP moves offices from George Square to The Tun at Holyrood to accommodate a significant expansion in personnel as a result of planned investment in the business
2014–2023: EUP acquires the publishing assets of Dundee University Press and Avizandum Law publishers, as well as copyright to number of journals and enters new publishing partnerships with Studies in Photography, Talbot Rice Gallery and Gibb Memorial Trust
2022: Launch of a new five-year strategic plan with the twin pillars of Mission and Business Sustainability
2023: EUP hits a milestone of £5m in sales across its books and journals programme and is awarded the accolades of Academic, Educational and Professional Publisher of the Year at the British Book Awards and the Saltire Society’s Publisher of the Year at the Scottish National Book Awards
2024: EUP moves back onto the University Estate at Infirmary Street with a new office designed for post-pandemic flexible working
About Nicola Ramsey
Nicola Ramsey has been CEO of Edinburgh University Press since 2021. Prior to this role, she commissioned across a range of subjects including Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies and latterly was Head of our editorial team.
You can find out more about our vision and mission and read our annual report online.
Pen drawings of George Square and The Tun by Jennifer Court. Photograph of Nicola Ramsey by Mark Jackson.
