UCT Press is committed to publishing high-quality, peer-reviewed, monographs, scholarly publications with trade potential and original research works. UCT Press endeavours to be the preferred university press for academic authors on the African continent by publishing works of an exceptionally high standard. The established and substantial marketing resources of Juta and Company ensure the effective promotion of UCT Press titles to a wider local and international community. Titles for publication under the UCT Press imprint are approved by the UCT Press Editorial Board. UCT Press is owned by Juta and Company.

 

 

 

 

UCT Press was started in 1994 by Professor Martin Hall, then chair of the Centre of African Studies (CAS) Board, and it was managed from the CAS by Rose Meny-Gibert. The board was chaired by Brian Warner, a professor in the Department of Astronomy, and it was made up of a cross-section of academics.

 

It was not envisioned as a conventional university press, but was expected, rather, to use the opportunity afforded by new electronic technology to produce small runs by printing on demand.

 

The Press moved to the Old Medical School Building on the Hiddingh Hall campus in 1996. However, it was already clear that investment was required to allow the Press to build a backlist in order to sustain itself. This funding was not forthcoming from the university, so the publishers Juta and Company bought two thirds of the shares in the Press, took over the existing debt, and paid rent to UCT for the Hiddingh Hall premises.

 

In 1996 Rose Meny-Gibert was joined by Glenda Younge. The Press then consisted of two staff members and was publishing 15 to 20 books per annum.

 

The sales, marketing and warehousing were outsourced to a company called Book Promotions. Despite some excellent titles, the Press, like most other university presses in South Africa, continued to run at a loss.

 

In 1998 Juta bought 100% of the Press from UCT, and to maximise economies of scale, moved the UCT Press offices to their premises in Wetton, and took over the sales, marketing and warehousing of books published by the Press. UCT Press then became an imprint of Juta and Company.

 

Throughout this period the editorial board continued to meet quarterly, and books were being published under the UCT Press imprint. In the early 2000s there was a specific focus on psychology books, many of them textbooks, which generally proved profitable. However, after a restructuring at Juta in 2004, the editorial board did not meet again, and there was very little published under the UCT Press imprint until 2007.

 

At the beginning of 2007, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of research, Professor Cheryl de la Rey, re-constituted the editorial board, chaired by Digby Sales of UCT Libraries, with representatives from each faculty. The re-launched Press is intended to operate like other traditional university presses, publishing peer-reviewed books written by a wide range of authors from UCT as well as other academic institutions, from Southern Africa and abroad. A representative from the UCT Press attends the Frankfurt and London Book Fairs, to buy and sell rights. UCT Press now has a number of publishing partners abroad.

 

The editorial board has set out its guidelines for submission and has a web presence.Members of the UCT community looking for publication of an academic monograph are urged to submit manuscripts for consideration to Publisher Sandy Shepherd via email sshepherd@juta.co.za