Launched in 2015, and based in the heart of Central London, the University of Westminster Press (UWP) is a digital-first open access publisher of peer-reviewed academic books, policy briefs, and journals. UWP exists to provide global public access to academic work in multiple formats. In partnership with our authors and editors, we aim to publish in areas that reflect the teaching and research strengths of the University of Westminster across the social sciences and humanities, science and technology, media, art and design.

Open Access

Inspired by the movement toward open research, our mission is to make journals and books free at the point of access in digital form and accessible and affordable in print, giving them the widest possible dissemination, ensuring researchers around the globe can discover scholarly materials without excess cost and with maximum convenience. The Press provides access to our online journals and books completely free of charge in a variety of digital formats. Print books are also available for purchase, and we work to ensure that our prices are as low as possible.

Sustainability and Fees

UWP balances cost-effectiveness with a desire to avoid charging fees directly to authors. As a Diamond Open Access publisher, we do not charge fees to either authors or readers. We explore and encourage collective funding mechanisms and library membership schemes, and we look to diverse income streams to match our costs over the longer term. We are happy to consider – subject to peer review – high quality submissions from authors around the world, and from any higher education academic level or background.

Quality and Impact

In order to support and stimulate scholarly communication, we believe that the quality of our publications is of utmost importance. This means that we not only aim for the highest editorial standards, but also produce our publications with care. UWP's journal and book series editors, consisting of prominent scholars, assess all publications, which are also subject to a thorough external peer review process. The Press is overseen by a management board and an academic editorial board drawn from a range of disciplines from within the University of Westminster, and all new book and journal projects must be approved by them, based on peer review before publication. The Press is managed by experienced industry personnel on a day-to-day basis.

Environmental Considerations

UWP is committed to environmentally friendly practices to ensure sustainability and reduce our carbon footprint wherever possible. Our books and journals are all open access, and therefore print is a relatively small part of our publishing output. Wherever possible we use recycled paper and eco-friendly inks for print publications and implement energy-efficient practices in offices and through our production partner, Michigan Publishing Services. Remote work and attending virtual conferences are encouraged to reduce travel-related emissions.

Diversity and Inclusion

We recognise that the publishing industry has much work to do to create genuine diversity and to provide wider access, opportunity and representation for marginalised communities – as employees, suppliers and authors. The UWP Management and Editorial Boards are committed to advancing equity of opportunity, widening participation and diversifying content across its publishing activities. UWP is a signatory to EvenUP, a framework that seeks to align and amplify EDI initiatives from UK and Irish university presses.

Publish with UWP

If you are interested in publishing a book, starting a new journal or transferring an existing one please contact us. We will be happy to explain our publishing protocols and to discuss with you how we may be able to meet your publishing requirements and objectives.

Research Data and Software

We encourage our authors to make any research data or software associated with all books and articles openly available whenever possible. The Virtual Research Environment and institutional repository, WestminsterResearch, is available for this purpose as are external data repositories such as Zenodo. This greatly increases the potential reusability and impact of work, leading to increased citations and chances for collaboration.