University Press Week Is Here!

Organized by the Association of University Presses (AUPresses), University Press Week (UP Week) is an annual celebration of the work of university presses and their contributions to the larger publishing world. 

Bookselling This Week spoke briefly with AUPresses’ External Communications Manager, Annette Windhorn, to learn more about University Press Week and its relation to indie bookstores. 

Each year, UP Week is built around a different theme. 2024's theme is “Step UP.”

“We chose this year's theme, Step UP, in tandem with last year's theme, Speak UP, thinking first about how university presses give voice to a wide range of authors and ideas and then about how those voices inform and inspire action,” she explained. 

AuPresses has even curated a list of books that support this theme as well as an extensive event lineup — many of which are being hosted by indie bookstores.

Though UP Week is not a movement restricted to indie bookstores, there is an undeniable kinship between indies and university presses.

In a press release for this event, AUPresses Executive Director Peter Berkley shared a sentiment that will resonate with many indie booksellers: “Every day, university presses worldwide step up to educate and enlighten, motivate and inspire, support and act.” 

“University presses and their staffs are big fans (and customers) of yours as well as trusted sources of quality work,” Windhorn said. “Together in communities around the country, university press publishers and indies work to share the latest scholarship, great fiction and poetry, and regional history and culture works, among many other ideas and disciplines, with local readers.”

With this shared mission in mind, it’s no wonder why many indies already participate readily in UP Week. Many university presses also participate in indie bookstore events, like Indies First promotions!

If you’d like to learn more about University Press Week 2024, visit the UP Week website for book recommendations, the events calendar, social media assets, and other resources!