University of Alberta Press
Encyclopedia
The University of Alberta Press (UAP) is a publishing house and a division of the University of Alberta
that engages in academic publishing
.
, Alberta
, and publishes an average of between 20 and 30 books each year. The active title listing has approximately 204 books, as of 2009.
, literary criticism, Canadian studies, Native studies and reference works. It has a commitment to publishing books of importance to Western Canada
thereby contributing to the variety and diversity of cultural expression and promoting engagement with ideas and continuance of a literate culture.
The UAP developed a strong presence in the Alberta and broader Canadian publishing industry where it is highly respected as an important contributor to scholarship and literary culture. It consistently wins editorial and design awards for its books. Amongst the books the press has published are:
Originally the UAP existed to publish works of significant scholarship; however, due to increasing financial pressures and decreasing library markets, the UAP, like its counterparts across North America
, has had to broaden its role to encompass a wider more trade-orientated publishing program.
The UAP has kept pace with technological innovations including digitization in the preparation of camera ready pages; however, the UAP is a publishing house, not a printer. Therefore, UAP books are printed at different printing establishments throughout Canada depending on the specific requirements of the books including whether there are colour images and the type of binding desired, either cloth or soft cover. The UAP is committed to protecting the environment and in 2003 signed an agreement to have UAP books printed on stock that contains 100% consumer recycled fibres and is acid and chlorine free.
The UAP first hosted a website in 1995 and upgraded it in 2002, when it became possible to run webpages containing information pulled from a comprehensive database of title metadata. An online store was added in 2004.
, history, language
, literature
, natural history
, regional interest, travel narratives and reference books. In effect UAP contributes to the intellectual and cultural life of Alberta and Canada by publishing well-edited, research-based knowledge and creative thought, which has undergone rigorous peer-review, is of real value to natural constituencies, adheres to quality publication standards and is supported by appropriate marketing efforts.
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
that engages in academic publishing
Academic publishing
Academic publishing describes the subfield of publishing which distributes academic research and scholarship. Most academic work is published in journal article, book or thesis form. The part of academic written output that is not formally published but merely printed up or posted is often called...
.
Overview
UAP is situated in Ring House 2 on the University of Alberta campus, located in EdmontonEdmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, and publishes an average of between 20 and 30 books each year. The active title listing has approximately 204 books, as of 2009.
History
UAP was originally established as a department of the University of Alberta in 1969 and the first Press Director, Leslie E.S. Gutteridge (1913–2000) was appointed in 1977. The UAP acquires, publishes, and disseminates works of scholarly merit, making them available to the broader public. Historically it is particularly recognized for publishing in the following disciplines: historyHistory
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, literary criticism, Canadian studies, Native studies and reference works. It has a commitment to publishing books of importance to Western Canada
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...
thereby contributing to the variety and diversity of cultural expression and promoting engagement with ideas and continuance of a literate culture.
The UAP developed a strong presence in the Alberta and broader Canadian publishing industry where it is highly respected as an important contributor to scholarship and literary culture. It consistently wins editorial and design awards for its books. Amongst the books the press has published are:
- Robert Conquest's Harvest of Sorrow, Soviet Collectivization and the Terror Famine.
- The Collected Writings of Louis Riel/Les Ecrits complet de Louis Riel, George G.F. Stanley, Raymond J.A. Huel, Gilles Martel, Thomas Flanagan, Glenn Campbell, editors, a critical edition composed of five annotated volumes.
- The Canadian Dictionary of ASL, Carole Sue Bailey and Kathy Dolby, editors, winner of the Alberta Educational Book of the Year, Scholarly Book of the Year and Trade Non-Fiction Book of the Year as well as an Award of Merit from the Association for Canadian Studies and the Alcuin SocietyAlcuin SocietyA voluntary association established in 1965 by Geoff Spencer, the Alcuin Society is a non-profit organization founded for the book arts. It is located in Canada...
Citation for Excellence in Book Design in Canada. - A.K. Hellum's A Painter's Year in the Forests of Bhutan, winner of the Banff Mountain Book Festival Best Book award and Alberta Book Awards for Trade Book of the Year, and Book Design, Illustration and Cover. A.K. Hellum was also awarded the Writers Guild of Alberta Wilfred Eggleston Award for Non-Fiction.
- E.D. Blodgett's An Ark of Koans, which won a number of Alberta Book Awards, as well as design awards from the Association of American University PressesAssociation of American University PressesThe Association of American University Presses is an association of mostly, but not exclusively, North American university presses...
and the Alcuin Society. - The Freshwater Fishes of British Columbia, J.D. McPhail, foreword by Joseph S. Nelson and illustrations by D.L. McPhail, ISBN 978-0-88864-467-1. This important reference work draws upon a lifetime of research by J.D. McPhail, professor emeritus of the Native Fish Research Group in the Department of Zoology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
Originally the UAP existed to publish works of significant scholarship; however, due to increasing financial pressures and decreasing library markets, the UAP, like its counterparts across North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, has had to broaden its role to encompass a wider more trade-orientated publishing program.
The UAP has kept pace with technological innovations including digitization in the preparation of camera ready pages; however, the UAP is a publishing house, not a printer. Therefore, UAP books are printed at different printing establishments throughout Canada depending on the specific requirements of the books including whether there are colour images and the type of binding desired, either cloth or soft cover. The UAP is committed to protecting the environment and in 2003 signed an agreement to have UAP books printed on stock that contains 100% consumer recycled fibres and is acid and chlorine free.
The UAP first hosted a website in 1995 and upgraded it in 2002, when it became possible to run webpages containing information pulled from a comprehensive database of title metadata. An online store was added in 2004.
Publication areas
The UAP generally accepts submissions in the areas of biographyBiography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
, history, language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
, literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
, regional interest, travel narratives and reference books. In effect UAP contributes to the intellectual and cultural life of Alberta and Canada by publishing well-edited, research-based knowledge and creative thought, which has undergone rigorous peer-review, is of real value to natural constituencies, adheres to quality publication standards and is supported by appropriate marketing efforts.
Industry associations
- Book Publishers Association of Alberta
- Association of Canadian Publishers
- Association of Canadian University Presses
- Association of American University Presses