University of Queensland Press

The University of Queensland Press was founded in 1948 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the University of Queensland.^[1]

Established as a publisher of scholarly works, UQP made its transition into trade publishing in the late-1960s, largely through poetry and the Paperback Poets series.^[2] Considered revolutionary at the time, Paperback Poets was a series of poetry editions in paperback format and priced at $1. The series was established after poet and novelist David Malouf expressed a desire to produce a new poetry format that was affordable and had mass appeal. Alongside Malouf's debut collection Bicycle and Other Poems, the Paperback Poets series published volumes by writers such as Rodney Hall and Michael Dransfield.^[3]

In 1990, UQP was the first mainstream Australian publisher to set up a list specifically for Indigenous Australian authors in 1990 with the Black Australian Writers series.^{[citation needed]} In 2023, UQP created the First Nations Classics series, a collection of UQP's award-winning titles by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers reissued with introductions from contemporary authors. The series set out to celebrate the legacy of Indigenous Australian writing in the publisher's backlist and bring renewed attention to the featured titles.^[4] Preceding this series,

In 2021, UQP became a signatory to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals Publishers Compact,^[5] and, in 2023, was the first Australian trade publisher to be climate neutral or positive.^{[citation needed]}

Today, UQP publishes books for general readers across fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and children’s and YA. As of 2024^[update], UQP is Queensland’s only major publishing house with domestic and international distribution.^[1]

UQP established the David Unaipon Award for an Emerging Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Writer in 1988 in honour of Ngarrindjeri author, inventor and activist David Unaipon, and it remains the most prestigious national award for unpublished Indigenous authors today. The award established the careers of hailed Australian writers such as Doris Pilkington Garimara, Samuel Wagan Watson, Larissa Behrendt, Tara June Winch and Ellen van Neerven. ^{[citation needed]}

UQP established the UQP Quentin Bryce Award in 2020 in honour of Dame Quentin Bryce to recognise a book in its list each year that celebrates women’s lives and/or promotes gender equality. The inaugural recipient of the award was van Neerven’s poetry collection Throat, which went on to be recognised in multiple prizes, including winning Book of the Year at the 2021 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards.^[6]

In partnership with Arts Queensland, UQP supports the Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize. Established in 2003 and named in honour of the distinguished Queensland poet Thomas Shapcott, the prestigious prize discovers and celebrates emerging Queensland poets and offers them a publishing contract with UQP. Previous winners of the prize include celebrated poets Holland-Batt, Felicity Plunkett, Gavin Yuan Gao and Rae White.^{[citation needed]}

UQP also supports the Glendower Award for an Emerging Queensland Writer Queensland Literary Award. The award was established in 1999 with the aim to mentor Queensland writers in the early stages of their careers. The winner receives a publishing contract with UQP.^{[citation needed]}

Since 2019, UQP authors have won significant national acclaim, with award wins in all of Australia's most prestigious literature prizes including the Miles Franklin Award, the Stella Prize, the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, and others.^{[citation needed]}

In 2021, 2022, and 2023, UQP was awarded Small Publisher of the Year by the Australian Book Industry Awards.^{[citation needed]}

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