About the Press

The ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide Press operated between 2009 and 2018 and published many well-received works by ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n and international authors.

Celebrating the principles of open access, the Press published scholarly and academic volumes, as well as general works about the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide. To this day the works of the Press continue to enjoy a wide, international audience.

While the Press is no longer active, the majority of works produced over its 10 year history will remain available online to download and purchase.

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About the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide Press

Launched in 2009 by author and Nobel Prize winner J M Coetzee, the final work published by the press was launched in February 2019. Over its 10 year history the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide Press published a substantial range of high-quality works, authored and edited by notable ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n and international academics. The press published works under two separate imprints: The ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide Press, which published intellectual and scholarly works that were subject to a selection process and external refereeing, and The Barr Smith Press, which published works of interest about the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥.

The Press celebrated open access principles, with most works offering a free online edition. 

While the Press is no longer active, books and other works published by the Press will remain available for download and purchase. 

  • Brief history of the Press

    The ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide has been publishing books under various imprints since the 1920s. 

    The Barr Smith Library published the correspondence of Joanna Elder and Robert Barr Smith under the imprint 'Barr Smith Press' in 1996. The imprint was renamed the 'ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide Barr Smith Press' in 2005 to publish three books from the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide's Alumni John Bray Law Chapter. These were Ralph Hague's History of the Law in South ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥, and John Emerson's First Among EqualsÌý²¹²Ô»åÌýA History of the Independent Bar in South ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥. In 2007 the same imprint published graduate and winemaker Ian Hickinbotham's memoirs, ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n Plonky.

    These publications led to an investigation into the feasibility of formally establishing a university press. As both research and publishing had become increasingly digitalised, the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ recognised the need to explore new methods of publishing academic writing. While traditional university publishing was in decline, modern digital technology allowed for an entirely new publishing model and the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide Press was established with two imprints:

    • The ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide Press would publish the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥'s intellectual and scholarly output as book-length works in two editions - a free PDF edition, and a high quality paperback edition. Titles would be subjected to a selection process and external refereeing to ensure the Press would compete with the best of the traditional university presses. 
    • The Barr Smith Press became an imprint of the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide Press, publishing works of interest about the the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ (that may or may not be refereed). These would include histories of various activities of the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥, its clubs and institutions, memoirs of graduates, and any other work that would contribute to the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥'s own history and impact through the work of its alumni. 

    The Press officially closed in December 2018, with the final work published in February 2019. More information about the Press is held within ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ Archives.