Scottish Universities Press to launch first-ever books

The Scottish Universities Press (SUP), a newly established open access publisher, will release its first two book titles from October, marking a significant milestone in Scotland’s academic publishing landscape and offering a fresh platform for scholarly voices and innovative research.

SUP is a collaborative initiative initially supported by a consortium of leading Scottish universities, including the University of Dundee. 

The Press is committed to advancing open access publishing, making high-quality scholarly research available to a global audience without barriers to knowledge, and increasing the impact of academic work. 

Nine titles are in the pipeline, and more are expected from the consortium, giving researchers even better opportunities to publish their research.

The first two titles to be released from October 2024 are:

1. Conversations with Tim Ingold, by Tim Ingold, Robert Gibb, Philip Tonner and Diego Maria Malara
2. Digital Editing and Publishing in the Twenty-First Century, edited by James O’Sullivan, Michael Pidd, Michael Kurzmeier, Orla Murphy, Bridgette Wessels and Sophie Whittle.

Tim Ingold is one of the leading anthropologists of our time. This comprehensive and relatable introduction to his works is presented as a series of engaging interviews and explores Ingold’s crucial contributions to anthropology and other disciplines.

In Conversations with Tim Ingold, he describes the key influences that have shaped his life and career and addresses criticism that has been levelled at his ideas.

Digital Editing and Publishing in the Twenty-First Century engages with a range of contemporary and important topics which are often neglected, including queer approaches to editing, accessibility and publishing in the age of artificial intelligence. 

The work makes a significant contribution to the reimagining of the collective craft of edition making by offering reflections on the current and future state of the edition and how it is shared in contemporary contexts.

The debut titles showcase the breadth and depth of research coming out of Scotland and set the tone for SUP’s commitment to advancing scholarly excellence and accessibility in areas of critical importance to Scotland and the wider world.

An innovative library-led initiative, SUP is organised by the Scottish Confederation of University & Research Libraries (SCURL), and run collaboratively by member libraries on a not-for-profit basis.

Hannah Whaley, Chair of the SUP Management Board and Director of Library Academic and Cultural Services at the University of Dundee, said, “It has been a privilege to Chair SUP from proof of concept to the largest library-led publishing collaboration in the UK over the last three years, showing that libraries can work at scale to deliver high-quality publishing. 

“Libraries are committed to helping researchers share their work with wider audiences and a unique SUP ethos has emerged which puts academics at the centre of that publishing process.”

Gillian Daly, executive officer, SCURL, added, “We are thrilled to announce the publication of our first titles under SUP, marking a significant step in our journey to make high-quality academic research freely accessible to everyone. 

“These inaugural works reflect the diverse strengths of Scottish scholarship, and we are proud to support our universities in sharing their knowledge with the world."