MUP

A Centenary History

Stuart Kells
Hardback
Added to basketCheckout →
Ships in 1–3 days
Other formats available

MUP

A Centenary History

Stuart Kells
Inside Australia's most venerable book publishing house.
Australia's oldest university press is also one of our best known and most trusted publishers. Founded in 1921 as a bookshop for students at the University of Melbourne, Melbourne University Press was soon publishing important works that contained the best of national scholarship Landmark MUP books and series include The Australian Dictionary of Biography, Manning Clark's History of Australia, The Encyclopaedia of New Guinea and the journal Meanjin. These and other MUP publications helped shape how Australians perceived themselves, and how they talked about literature, politics, race, the Pacific, the world wars and public policy. From its inception, MUP grappled with hard questions. How should a university press be governed? To what extent should such a press be concerned with political, polemical and radical works? And can a university press be financially self-sustaining if it focuses on books that commercial publishers overlook? The respective leaders of MUP…
Australia's oldest university press is also one of our best known and most trusted publishers. Founded in 1921 as a bookshop for students at the University of Melbourne, Melbourne University Press was soon publishing important works that contained the best of national scholarship. Landmark MUP books and series include The Australian Dictionary of Biography, Manning Clark's History of Australia, The Encyclopaedia of New Guinea and the journal Meanjin. These and other MUP publications helped shape how Australians perceived themselves, and how they talked about literature, politics, race, the Pacific, the world wars and public policy. From its inception, MUP grappled with hard questions. How should a university press be governed? To what extent should such a press be concerned with political, polemical and radical works? And can a university press be financially self-sustaining if it focuses on books that commercial publishers overlook? The respective leaders of MUP answered these questions in ways that regularly led the press into controversy. Using a century of MUP publications and archives, Stuart Kells has written a rich and fascinating history of an invaluable Australian institution-one that is widely seen as public property, and whose ups and downs have always been news.

[Kells] is a prolific and admired scholar of the book world.”
Australian Book Review

[Kells] provides significant insights into the history and publishing of MUP, and thus of Australian cultural and political history.”
The Canberra times

The essence of a university, then as now, is to conserve knowledge, to advance it and to disseminate it, and the written word, captured on paper was at its centre … Stuart Kells’ history is vivid with the individuals who understood this explicit function. They also misunderstood, had specialised brilliances and blindnesses as well as constant economic restraints. A tale trying to encapsulate, and excavate intellectual history and commercial possibilities is carried by the central characters. They are all here and given even-handed consideration because Kells has a sharp eye and a kind heart … This crisp book is full of wonderful details and fresh information.”
The Sydney Morning Herald

A worthwhile and illuminating book, and an important contribution to Australia’s literary and intellectual history.”
The Conversation

The history of a university press does not promise a gripping read, but Stuart Kells has written a masterpiece. His narrative verve, analytical and biographical skills, opening up some dark cupboards, are outstanding and often mesmerising. A work to cherish.”
Barry Jones

Stuart Kells

Stuart Kells

Stuart Kells has written on a wide range of subjects including libraries, publishing, professional services and diamond mining. His shorter works have been published around the world including in Smithsonian, The Paris Review, The Guardian and LitHub. A University of Melbourne alumnus, he delivered the 2018 Jean Whyte Lecture and the 2022 Murray Talk. His history of Penguin Books, Penguin and the Lane Brothers, won the Ashurst Business Literature Prize in…

More

Hardback
Added to basketCheckout →
Ships in 1–3 days
Other formats available