For authors who wish to explore different publishing options, we have put together a non-exhaustive list of open access monograph publishers that you may wish to consider.
This list includes publishers experimenting with innovative funding models who provide open access with no requirement for the author or institution to pay along with open access presses which charge BPCs. We have also created a selected list of the open access options offered by academic publishers who charge BPCs.
Researchers who want to conduct a more comprehensive search of open access publishing options are encouraged to browse the Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) by publisher or subject to identify authoritative publishers in their field who offer an open access route, with or without a book processing charge for authors. The DOAB Foundation is a non-profit entity based at the National Library of the Netherlands.
Researchers may also find it useful to consult the website of OAPEN who maintain a list of book publishers that comply with the open access requirements of the ERC and Wellcome Trust.
Publishers providing open access with no requirement for the author or institution to pay
Goldsmiths Press (Goldsmiths Press offer open access following an embargo period at no cost but also provide the option of immediate open access via the payment of a BPC)
Initiatives and publishing schemes providing open access with no requirement for the author or institution to pay
Bloomsbury Open Collections initiative
Cambridge University Press ‘Flip it Open’ scheme
Central European University (CEU) Press – Opening the Future initiative
Cornell University Press - Signale Series
Liverpool University Press – Opening the Future initiative
MIT Press – Direct to Open initiative
Initiatives and publishing schemes available to Early Career Researchers with no funding grant
With limited resources available to fund the Gold open access monographs, early career researchers (ECRs) face significant barriers. To address this, several open access monograph initiatives to support ECRs have emerged that are outlined below.
OpenUp: Six well-established university presses from the UK (Bristol University Press, Edinburgh University Press, Liverpool University Press, Manchester University Press, University of Wales Press, UCL Press) have a collaborative project aimed to secure funding for a number of first books by UK-based early-career researchers.
Royal Historical Society – New Historical Perspectives (NHP) series: New Historical Perspectives (NHP) is the Society’s book series for early career scholars (within ten years of their doctorate), commissioned and edited by the Royal Historical Society, in association with University of London Press and the Institute of Historical Research. All NHP titles are published as free open access editions, eBooks, and in hard and paperback formats by University of London Press.
British Academy Monographs series: The British Academy has produced a series of monographs that has provided an excellent publishing opportunity and showcase for British Academy-supported early career researchers. In 2022, the Academy published its first open access monograph as part of the series.
Some open access publishers who do not charge a Book Processing Charge (BPC) encourage submissions from ECRs. These include Open Book Publishers and Punctum Books.
Open access publishers requiring the payment of a BPC
Heidelberg University Publishing
University of Huddersfield Press
Academic and university press publishers requiring the payment of a BPC
Central European University (CEU) Press
McGill-Queen’s University Press
University of California Press - Luminos
University of Michigan Press - Digital Culture Books (Series)