Publishing from the South : A Century of Wits University Press

Abstract

In 2022 Wits University Press marked its centenary, making it the oldest, most established university press in sub-Saharan Africa. While in part modelled on scholarly publishers from the global North, it has had to contend with the constraints of working under global South conditions: marginalisation within the university, budgetary limitations, small local markets, unequal access to international sales channels, and the privileging of English language publishing over indigenous languages. This volume explores what the Press has achieved, and what its modes of reinvention might look like. In widening and deepening our understanding of the Press as an example of a global South scholarly publisher, this volume asks how publishing can contribute to a broader understanding of Southern knowledge production.

Featuring contributions from scholars, publishers and authors this multi-voiced volume showcases the history of the Press’s publishing activities over 100 years: from documenting its evolution through book covers and giving credence to some of the leading black intellectuals and writers of the early 20th century and the success of those works in spite of their authors’ racial marginalisation, to the role of women, both in publishing and in the spaces afforded to women’s writing on the Press’s list. The collection concludes with essays by contemporary authors who detail not only their experiences of working with Southern publishers, but also the politics and influences governing their decisions to choose the Press over a Northern publisher.

Publishing from the South shows the strategies deployed by the Press to professionalise Southern knowledge making, and in the process demonstrating how university presses in the global South support the scholarly missions of their universities for both local and global audiences. ; In 2022 Wits University Press marked its centenary, making it the oldest university press in sub-Saharan Africa. While in part modelled on scholarly publishers from the global North, it has had to contend with the constraints of working under global South conditions: marginalisation within the university, budgetary limitations, small local markets, unequal access to international distribution and sales channels, and the privileging of English language publishing over indigenous languages.

This volume showcases the history and achievements of the Press: from documenting its evolution through book covers and giving credence to some of the leading black intellectuals and writers of the early 20th century and the success of their works in spite of their authors’ racial marginalisation, to the role of women both in publishing and in the spaces afforded to women’s writing on the Press’s list. The collection concludes with author essays on the politics and experiences of choosing and working with a global South publisher.

The collection shows the strategies deployed by the Press to professionalise Southern knowledge making and how local university presses support the scholarly mission of their universities for local and global audiences.