University of Illinois Press

What University of Illinois Press does

University of Illinois Press is a non-profit academic publishing house operated by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, headquartered at 1325 South Oak Street, Champaign, Illinois. It publishes peer-reviewed scholarly monographs and edited volumes across American history, music and ethnomusicology, folklore, film and media studies, dance, ethnic studies, and Illinois regional topics, alongside a portfolio of more than 40 peer-reviewed journal titles including Music and the Moving Image, Journal of Film and Video, Women, Gender, and Families of Color, Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, and Journal of Finnish Studies. The press operates formal publishing partnerships with scholarly societies (American Bach Society, Abraham Lincoln Association, University Film & Video Association, Illinois State Historical Society, Film Music Society), which provide embedded journal relationships and society-membership subscription revenue.

Its technology stack centers on a WordPress content management system for its website, with distribution and access delivered through the Scholarly Publishing Collective (institutional subscriptions), Project MUSE (online and Subscribe to Open access), JSTOR (back-content archiving), and BookShare (accessible formats). A 2026 AI policy governs author, reviewer, and freelancer use of generative AI, prohibiting manuscript loading into LLM-training interfaces. The press earns revenue from one-time book sales (print and eBook), recurring institutional and individual journal subscriptions, open-access publication fees, complimentary desk and examination copy programs for course adoption, and rights and permissions licensing. Books are priced from approximately $14.95 (eBook) to $125 (cloth); journal subscriptions range from $15 (student) to $119 (institutional print + online). Distribution is global, with regional partners in the United Kingdom (Combined Academic Publishers) and Australia/New Zealand (Woodslane). The press is owned by a public state university system; it does not have venture capital, private equity, or external shareholders, and it does not publicly disclose revenue.

Name

University of Illinois Press

Legal name

University of Illinois Press

Website

https://press.uillinois.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1918

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

University of Illinois Press is a non-profit academic publishing house, operated by the University of Illinois System, that publishes 40+ peer-reviewed journals and hundreds of scholarly books annually for academic libraries, faculty, and scholarly readers worldwide, distributed through Scholarly Publishing Collective, Project MUSE, and JSTOR.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130), Periodical Publishers (51312), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131), Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Research Monographs & University Press Publishing (MPAJABAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Social Sciences Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAD), Interdisciplinary & Multidisciplinary Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAI), Open Access Scholarly Journals & Monographs (EDAGAFAJ), Academic & Scholarly Journals Publishing (Peer-Reviewed) (MPAJABAC)

Keywords

• Academic publishing
• Scholarly books
• Peer reviewed journals
• University press
• Open access publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Champaign

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: Sales of scholarly monographs and edited volumes in print (paperback and cloth) and digital (eBook) formats. Pricing varies by format with paperbacks typically $28-$36, cloth editions $60-$125, and eBooks $14.95-$19.95.
2. Journal Subscriptions: Recurring subscriptions to peer-reviewed journals in print and/or online formats. Individual subscriptions range $37-$53 annually; institutional subscriptions $101-$119. Published multiple times per year.
3. Open Access Publication Fees: Authors may request open access for accepted articles with associated fees. Some titles available via Project MUSE Subscribe to Open program.
4. Desk and Examination Copies: Desk copies provided complimentary to qualified instructors who have adopted books for courses; examination copies available for a nominal shipping fee for professors considering adoption.
5. Rights and Permissions: Licensing of reprint rights and permissions for journal articles and book content.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

University of Illinois Press is a university press that publishes peer-reviewed scholarly monographs, edited volumes, and academic journals across humanities and social sciences, with concentrations in American history, ethnomusicology, folklore, ethnic and cultural studies, film and media, and Illinois regional scholarship. Titles are released in paperback, cloth, and eBook formats; journals are offered in print, online, and combined subscriptions with differentiated individual and institutional pricing. The press also operates open access publishing programs for select books and journals.

Product overview

University of Illinois Press is a university press publishing scholarly books and journals across humanities and social sciences. The core offerings include books covering history, music, folklore, dance, Latino/a studies, film studies, and regional Illinois topics, as well as peer-reviewed journals including Music and the Moving Image, Women Gender and Families of Color, Journal of Film and Video, Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, and Journal of Finnish Studies. The press offers open access publishing options for select titles and maintains an AI policy governing use of artificial intelligence in the scholarly publishing process. Distribution channels include the Scholarly Publishing Collective for institutional access and Project MUSE for open access journals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Southern Digitalities: Reimagining Digital Studies from the Global South Essays exploring digital life centered on experiences of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, challenging Western-centric digital studies approaches through concepts of data, belonging, work, and epistemologies. Part of The Geopolitics of Information series.
• Folklórico in the United States: Unwritten Histories Collection examining folklórico dance traditions in Mexican American communities, exploring how the dance has evolved and how Mexican Americans use it to resist cultural erasure. Publication supported by L.J. and Mary C. Skaggs Folklore Fund.
• Tengo Sed: An Anthology of Works Celebrating Black Voices, Identities, and Personhood Anthology of African-descended writers featuring genre fiction, nonfiction, poetry, memoir, art, and music exploring Black identity and liberation across the diaspora.
• Music and the Staged Veillée in Quebec: Performing Tradition History of Quebec's staged veillées examining how commercial performances of rural life became part of cultural heritage and impacted contemporary music performance and reception.
• The Dance of Everyday Movement: A Developmental Framework for Whole-Body Integration Innovative method for observing and analyzing movement in daily life, performing arts, and therapeutic contexts, building on Alexander Technique principles.
• Aztec Music and Dance in California Examination of California's Aztec dance communities illuminating how dancers interpret authenticity, tradition, and Indigenous and national identities through music and dance practices.
• The Divided City and Its New Cinemas, 1920-1980 Analysis of how independent filmmakers created new cinemas from within segregated American cities, examining six films mapping distinct urban geographies. Part of The History of Media and Communication series.
• Sacred Ground Historical analysis of American battlefields and how different groups compete for ownership of national stories, examining patriotic rhetoric, monument building, and preservation efforts at sites including Lexington, Concord, Gettysburg, Little Bighorn, and Pearl Harbor.
• Bach Perspectives, Volume 10 Collection of essays exploring Bach's organ-related activities, published by the American Bach society. Freely available in open access edition thanks to grant from Monte Fund of the American Bach Society.
• Music and the Moving Image Peer-reviewed journal exploring the relationship between music and moving images across film, television, music videos, computer games, performance art, and web-based media. Published three times yearly.
• Women, Gender, and Families of Color Multidisciplinary journal centering study of Black, Latina, Indigenous, and Asian American women, gender, and families, encouraging research from history, social sciences, and humanities.
• Journal of Film and Video Official journal of the University Film & Video Association, double-blind peer-reviewed journal published quarterly featuring scholarship on film, video, and media production, history, and aesthetics.
• Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society Scholarly publication of the Illinois State Historical Society, established 1908, welcoming articles on history, literature, art, technology, and law related to Illinois and the Midwest.
• Journal of Finnish Studies International scholarly journal founded 1997, bringing research about Finnish topics to English-language audiences, fostering understanding of Finnish cultural, historical, social, and political heritage.
• Open Access Books Program Open access publishing option for books, including titles supported by grants, with freely available digital editions.
• Open Access Journals Program Open access publishing option for journals, with some titles participating in Project MUSE's Subscribe to Open program.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and regional.

• Scholarly Publishing CollectivecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership for institutional journal subscriptions. SPC handles online-only and print+online institutional subscriptions for university libraries and research institutions worldwide.
• Project MUSEcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorScholarly database providing online access to UIP journals. Participating in Subscribe to Open program making Volume 18 of Music and the Moving Image open access.
• JSTORcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBack content journal access through JSTOR archive for historical issues of UIP publications.
• Film Music SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Music and the Moving Image journal. Society members receive discounted online subscriptions ($21/year). Joint podcast production and editorial collaboration.
• Illinois State Historical SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublishing partnership for Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, the scholarly publication of the ISHS established 1908. ISHS membership includes journal access.
• Abraham Lincoln AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublishing Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association, the only peer-reviewed journal devoted exclusively to Lincoln scholarship and official journal of the ALA (open access).
• University Film & Video AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublishing Journal of Film & Video, the official journal of the UFVA. Edited by Cynthia Baron, published four times annually as a double-blind peer-reviewed journal.
• American Bach SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublishing Bach Perspectives series (Volume 10 on Bach and the Organ). Open access edition thanks to grant from Monte Fund of the American Bach Society.
• Combined Academic Publishers Ltd.regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUK-based distributor for desk and examination copies. Located at Windsor House, Cornwall Road, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, UK.
• WoodslaneregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAustralian distributor for desk and examination copies. Sales Director: Andrew Guy, located at 10 Apollo St, Warriewood, Australia.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Harvard University Press: Elite university press publishing scholarly books in history, music, and cultural studies; directly comparable in subject areas, peer review standards, and target audience.
• Yale University Press: University press with strong overlap in American history, music, and cultural studies publishing; competes for the same academic authors and library market.
• University of Chicago Press: Closely comparable Midwestern university press publishing scholarly books and journals across humanities and social sciences; shares the same author pool, institutional customers, and distribution via Project MUSE/JSTOR.
• Indiana University Press: Mid-sized university press with strong overlap in music, ethnomusicology, folklore, and American cultural studies; directly competes for authors and readers in UIP's core subject areas.
• Duke University Press: University press publishing scholarly books and journals in humanities and social sciences, with notable overlap in cultural studies, music, and media — areas UIP also publishes in.
• University of Wisconsin Press: Regional peer university press publishing scholarly books and journals with similar focus on American history, regional studies, and humanities; comparable scale and operating model.

Broad incumbents

• Oxford University Press: Large global university press with overlapping scholarly monograph and journal publishing across humanities and social sciences; operates at much greater scale but competes for the same academic authors and library subscriptions.
• Cambridge University Press: Major university press with comparable scholarly monograph and journal portfolio across humanities and social sciences; competes with UIP for academic authors and institutional subscribers.
• MIT Press: Established university press publishing books and journals across humanities, social sciences, and media studies; overlaps with UIP on journals like Film and Video-adjacent media scholarship and competes for academic authors.

Others

• Project MUSE: Scholarly content distribution platform that aggregates university press journals and books, including UIP's; functions as both a key distribution partner and an adjacent infrastructure provider in the scholarly publishing ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/illinoispress
• Xx.com/illinoispress

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about University of Illinois Press