The University of Alberta Press

UAlberta Press was originally established as a department of the University of Alberta in 1969[2][3] and was one of several academic presses to be established in that decade. In 1974 it had grown to an annual budget of $5,000 and was run by three volunteers under the leadership of Leslie E.S. Gutteridge (1913–2000) who was appointed the first Press Director in 1977. In 1978 in response to the report of the Symons Royal Commission on Canadian Studies, the Alberta Provincial Government provided enough funding for the press to hire its first permanent staff member.[2]

In 1985 the press published The Collected Writings of Louis Riel/Les écrits complets de Louis Riel[4] a critical edition composed of five annotated volumes on the centenary of Riel’s death under the direct of George F. G. Stanley. The project was funded in part by a $5000,000 grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council in 1978, which at the time was the largest grant ever to have been given.[5][2] The projects administrative records, manuscripts and records are held at the University of Calgary Archive in the Thomas E. Flanagan Fonds.[6]

UAlberta Press acquires, publishes, and disseminates works of scholarly merit, making them available to the broader public. Historically it is particularly recognized for publishing in the following disciplines: history, literary criticism, Canadian studies, Indigenous studies, and reference works. It has a commitment to publishing books of importance to Western Canada thereby contributing to the variety and diversity of cultural expression and promoting engagement with ideas and continuance of a literate culture.

UAlberta Press generally accepts submissions in the areas of biography, history, language, literature, natural history, regional interest, travel narratives and reference books. It contributes to the intellectual and cultural life of Alberta and Canada by publishing well-edited, research-based knowledge and creative thought, which has undergone rigorous peer-review, is of real value to natural constituencies, adheres to quality publication standards and is supported by appropriate marketing efforts.[1]

UAlberta Press developed a strong presence in the Alberta and broader Canadian publishing industry where it is highly respected as an important contributor to scholarship and literary culture. It consistently wins editorial and design awards for its books. Amongst the books the press has published are:

• Robert Conquest's Harvest of Sorrow, Soviet Collectivization and the Terror Famine.[7]
• The Collected Writings of Louis Riel/Les Ecrits complet de Louis Riel,[8] George G.F. Stanley, Raymond J.A. Huel, Gilles Martel, Thomas Flanagan, Glenn Campbell, editors, a critical edition composed of five annotated volumes.
• The Canadian Dictionary of ASL,[9] Carole Sue Bailey and Kathy Dolby, editors, winner of the Alberta Educational Book of the Year, Scholarly Book of the Year and Trade Non-Fiction Book of the Year as well as an Award of Merit from the Association for Canadian Studies and the Alcuin Society Citation for Excellence in Book Design in Canada.
• A.K. Hellum's A Painter's Year in the Forests of Bhutan,[10] winner of the Banff Mountain Book Festival Best Book award and Alberta Book Awards for Trade Book of the Year, and Book Design, Illustration, and Cover. A.K. Hellum was also awarded the Writers' Guild of Alberta Wilfred Eggleston Award for Non-Fiction.
• E.D. Blodgett's An Ark of Koans,[11] which won a number of Alberta Book Awards, as well as design awards from the Association of American University Presses and the Alcuin Society.
• The Freshwater Fishes of British Columbia, J.D. McPhail, foreword by Joseph S. Nelson and illustrations by D.L. McPhail, ISBN 978-0-88864-467-1. This important reference work draws upon a lifetime of research by J.D. McPhail, professor emeritus of the Native Fish Research Group in the Department of Zoology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

UAlberta Press has kept pace with technological innovations including digitization in the preparation of camera-ready pages; however, it is a publishing house, not a printer. UAlberta Press books are printed at different printing establishments throughout Canada depending on the specific requirements of the books including whether there are colour images and the type of binding desired, either cloth or soft cover. The Press is committed to protecting the environment and in 2003 signed an agreement to have UAlberta Press books printed on stock that contains 100% consumer recycled fibres and is acid and chlorine-free.

UAlberta Press first hosted a website in 1995 and upgraded it in 2002, when it became possible to run webpages containing information pulled from a comprehensive database of title metadata. An online store was added in 2004.

• Book Publishers Association of Alberta[12]
• Association of Canadian Publishers
• Association of Canadian University Presses/Association des presses universitaires canadiennes
• Association of University Presses