An independent, employee-owned publisher with offices in the U.K. and the U.S., Boydell & Brewer is committed to delivering the best humanities and social science scholarship to a global audience. The press’s history dates back to 1969, when Boydell Press was established by medieval historian and Arthurian Richard Barber. In 1978, Boydell Press merged with D.S. Brewer, founded by Chaucer specialist Derek Brewer, to create a publishing house focused on medieval history and literature. In 1989, the press partnered with the University of Rochester—located in Rochester, N.Y.—to found University of Rochester Press and has embarked on a number of key partnerships while supporting a wide range of scholarly societies via publishing, distribution, and marketing services.
As Boydell & Brewer has evolved and expanded over the years, it has always kept the research community of scholars at the heart of its undertakings. It remains a bastion of quality thanks to its “excellent standards in editorial support, peer review, in-house production, and partnership publishing,” the press says. Earlier this year, Boydell & Brewer welcomed a new CEO, Tom Clark, who brings a wealth of experience in academic publishing. “Tom Clark has a particular passion for the work of university presses and is keen to establish publishing partnerships with more institutions,” the press says.
Boydell & Brewer specializes in high-quality scholarly content across the humanities and social sciences and is particularly strong in history, music, and literature. Bestselling titles include Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and The Universe Behind Barbed Wire: Memoirs of a Ukrainian Soviet Dissident by Myroslav Marynovych and translated by Zoya Hayuk. A recent big hit has been Donna J. Nicol’s Black Woman on Board: Claudia Hampton, the California State University, and the Fight to Save Affirmative Action.
Looking ahead to 2025, the press is proud to be publishing Law and the Protection of Democracy: Essays in Honor of Alfred C. Aman Jr., a timely collection about protecting our democracy that exemplifies this year’s #StepUp theme and features “eminent contributors from the judiciary, the practicing legal profession, the academy, and the realm of journalism.” Also coming up in 2025 is Migration and Return in Modern African Literature: Black Bodies in White Spaces by Ernest Cole, featuring close readings of nine novels by African or African-descended novelists, looking at three phases of African migration: departure, disillusionment, and the impulse to return.
As an independent, employee-owned publisher, Boydell & Brewer has made its values central to everything it does. The press nurtures authors to help them deliver their best work, is passionate about and dedicated to the communities it publishes for, and works hard to produce the highest quality products and experience for its authors and customers. It is always looking for sustainable solutions—from the best production techniques to pricing strategies—“to ensure future stability for our people, our business, the scholarly publishing community and the planet,” the press says, and it remains committed “to providing opportunity for all and supporting the breaking down of barriers for staff, partners, readers and learners worldwide through access to knowledge.”
