University of Queensland Press

History

The University of Queensland Press was founded in 1948 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Queensland.

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. Considered revolutionary at the time, Paperback Poets was a series of poetry editions established after the 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.

In 1972, during a time of "Australia’s developing awareness of her place in Asia", UQP launched the Asian and Pacific Writing series, which was edited first by Michael Wilding and later by Harry Aveling. In 1980 the Press launched the Leaders of Asia Series, with K. G. Tregonning as the general editor.

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. 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. Preceding this series,

In 2021, UQP became a signatory to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals Publishers Compact, and, in 2023, was the first Australian trade publisher to be climate neutral or positive.

Today, UQP publishes books for general readers across fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and children’s and YA. , UQP is Queensland’s only major publishing house with domestic and international distribution.

UQP Awards

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of Ngarrindjeri author, inventor and activist David Unaipon, and it remains the most prestigious national award for unpublished Indigenous authors today.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.

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.

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.

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.

Recognition

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.

In 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2025, UQP was awarded Small Publisher of the Year by the Australian Book Industry Awards.

References

References

1. "About us".
2. (2010). "Publish or Perish? Re-Imagining the University Press". M/C Journal.
3. "Paperback Poets".
4. Nicholas Jose, [https://web.archive.org/web/20191105130504/https://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/uqp-makes-history-a-personal-version/ UQP Makes History: a personal version], sydneyreviewofbooks.com. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
5. [https://www.publishinghistory.com/asian-and-pacific-writing-uqp.html Asian and Pacific Writing (University of Queensland Press)], publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
6. [https://manuscripts.library.uq.edu.au/downloads/uqfl198.pdf UQFL198 University of Queensland Press Collection - Fryer Library Manuscript Finding Aid], uq.edu.au. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
7. "UQP to publish a First Nations Classic series in 2023".
8. "List of SDG Publishers Compact Members".
9. (22 April 2021). "Book of the Yare 2021 Winner".