STOP THE PRESSES! Wait, which ones?: A brief look into the university-affiliated press

By: Kimberly Davis, Blog/Web Editor & Copywriter for The Teaching Press during Spring 2021

In the big wide world of publishing presses, it can be overwhelming for the most savvy of clients (and the most eager of interns) to not only narrow down their options from a professional perspective, but to pinpoint what exactly each and every press does from an organizational one. Although publishing presses can certainly offer their clients and staff with an extremely individualized experience—due to their wide range of services/capabilities, community/literary focus, and even the unique personalities they have on staff—there are undoubtedly similarities that can be detected across the board. So, let’s go on and ahead and get down to business. (The publishing business, that is!)

THE UNIVERSITY-AFFILIATED PRESS:

To start off, we will first consider the university-affiliated press. The category ‘university-affiliated press’ gains its name from the fact that it branches off from, or is in collaboration with, its parent institution (a university). These not-for-profit presses are commonly known for publishing works of academic merit; however, they may also inch into publishing creative or general interest works as well. More often than not, the university-affiliated press is willing to provide university students—those with applicable majors and/or related interests—with an outlet for early exposure to the inner-workings and operations of the publishing industry. Considering that these presses tend to reach a smaller audience (specialists or regional), it is not completely uncommon for them to operate in a way similar to micro-presses.