AUPresses Announces 2019 University Press Week Theme: “Read. Think. Act.”

Emphasizing the role that scholarly publishers can play in moving national and international conversations forward on critical and complex issues, the Association of University Presses (AUPresses) has chosen “Read. Think. Act.” as the theme for this year’s University Press Week (UP Week), which runs from Sunday, November 3, through Saturday, November 9.

In celebration of Indies First on Small Business Saturday, taking place on November 30, university presses are offering a range of special offers for bookseller members of the American Booksellers Association. Booksellers can visit the University Press Week website or the Indies First Publisher Offers page to access a range of items to help them promote the event, such as downloadable shelf-talkers and a recommended reading list compiled by university presses. 

The theme of “Read. Think. Act.” was selected based on the recognition that many citizens around the globe continue to engage in important debates that will influence vital decision-making in the months ahead. Through this theme, AUPresses members worldwide will encourage people to read the latest peer-reviewed publications about issues that affect our present and future — from politics to economics to climate change to race relations — and to better understand academic presses’ important contribution to these vital areas of concern.

“Many of us choose to work for university presses because we believe in the UP mission of bringing the latest research and ideas to diverse audiences of readers. The success of recent university press books such as White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo (Beacon Press) and Cyberwar by Kathleen Hall Jamieson (Oxford University Press) make it clear that there is a hunger for these books,”  said Kathryn Conrad, AUPresses president and director of the University of Arizona Press. “In the last few years many people have found it difficult to have effective conversations about the most serious and important issues facing our communities, nations, and world. We hope that by encouraging readers to explore university press works on topics that affect everyone — and to reflect on their reading — our publications might help stimulate positive conversations and actions.”

This will be the eighth annual University Press Week. The UP community will host online celebrations of this year’s theme via a blog tour and a featured publication gallery, and industry supporters such as Ingram, NetGalley, and Baker & Taylor will also mark the week online through special messages and marketing. In addition to events taking place at the Texas Book Festival, Brooklyn Book Festival, and Boston Book Festival, Book Culture in New York City will host a panel on November 7 on the week’s theme with a number of local UP editors and authors taking part.

A full run-down of all UP Week events can be found at www.universitypressweek.org, which will continue to be updated in the coming weeks.

University presses publish approximately 14,000 books each year, as well as more than 1,200 journals and numerous innovative digital works; 151 presses belong to AUPresses, and 20 percent of that number are presses based outside the US.

“University presses champion authors whose works can make a real difference in how all of us think about politics, religion, economics, science, technology, human rights, and the natural world, among other important topics,” said AUPresses Executive Director Peter Berkery. “Without university presses, many of these ideas would never make it into broader conversation. We are proud to make this aspect of our community’s work — and the impact it can have — our theme for University Press Week 2019.”