This anniversary sees EUP 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. Its goals align to the twin pillars of mission and business sustainability.
With a team of 54 people, it currently publishes around 300 new books and 56 journals each year, with its portfolio available online and in print. In the early days its book publishing represented an eclectic mix of subjects – they could quite literally say they published on everything from Archaeology to Zoology.
It has refined this over the years, recognising that the best way to develop a reputation and profile is by building strength in depth. Consequently, it now focuses on 10 core areas in the arts, humanities and social sciences.
This year, EUP has hosted University Press Redux, a biennial conference which gathered colleagues from across the scholarly publishing world. It’s future-proofing its business by implementing new systems to integrate work across teams and allow greater collaboration.
EUP is also expanding a commitment to Open Access with a second year of funding for local authors, the launch of a Subscribe to Open trial and sharing an Open Access hub.
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
Find out more
To learn more about Edinburgh University Press’ 75th anniversary, you can read the series of EUP75 blogs: Edinburgh University Press Blogs.