Presses universitaires Blaise-Pascal

What Presses universitaires Blaise-Pascal does

Presses universitaires Blaise-Pascal (PUBP) is a French non-profit university press established in 1999 and operated under Université Clermont Auvergne (UCA), with its headquarters co-located at the Maison des Sciences Humaines in Clermont-Ferrand. It publishes academic works in humanities and social sciences across approximately 20 collections, holding a catalogue of more than 400 titles that spans archaeology, history, literature, philosophy, linguistics, political science, management, environment, and architecture, with a regionally distinctive strand on Auvergne and Massif Central studies.

Its core products are physical books (livre papier) and digital publications (EPUB and PDF), delivered via the direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform pubp.fr and parallel distribution through French bookstores. A subset of titles is published in Open Access through the OpenEdition platform, providing free reading and download alongside the paid catalogue. Pricing follows the French Loi Lang fixed-book-price regime (Law 81-766 of August 10, 1981), with example unit prices ranging from 4.90 EUR for compact editions to 28 EUR for standard titles; the site also runs a monthly newsletter and a Bluesky social presence for audience development.

The business model is a one-time unit-purchase model targeted at academic researchers, university students, libraries and institutions, and the French-speaking general public. The press has 9 employees, no external investors or funding rounds, no disclosed revenue, and no app or API platform. Operational risk is low and structurally subsidized by its parent institution; commercial upside is constrained by its single-institution governance, modest headcount, and the niche scale of humanities academic publishing.

Name

Presses universitaires Blaise-Pascal

Legal name

Université Clermont Auvergne (UCA) for the account of Presses universitaires Blaise-Pascal (PUBP)

Website

https://pubp.fr

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Presses universitaires Blaise-Pascal is a non-profit French university press operated by Université Clermont Auvergne, publishing 400+ academic titles in humanities and social sciences via physical books, EPUB/PDF, and Open Access through pubp.fr.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Book Publishing

NAICS

Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Social Sciences Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Academic & Scholarly Journals Publishing (Peer-Reviewed) (MPAJABAC), Humanities & Arts Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAE)

Keywords

• Academic publishing
• University press
• Humanities monographs
• Scholarly book publishing
• Open access publications

Headquarters

HQ city

Clermont-Ferrand

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: Direct sales of physical books and digital publications (EPUB, PDF formats) through the company's e-commerce platform. Fixed pricing established by the publisher in compliance with French Law (Loi Lang 81-766 of August 10, 1981).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Presses universitaires Blaise-Pascal (PUBP) is a university press that publishes and sells academic works in humanities and social sciences, offering physical books and digital publications (EPUB, PDF), with select titles also available via Open Access. Its catalogue spans over 400 titles across approximately twenty collections covering archaeology, history, literature, philosophy, linguistics, political science, management, and related disciplines.

Product overview

Presses universitaires Blaise-Pascal (PUBP) is a university press publishing academic works in humanities and social sciences. The publisher offers a catalog of over 400 titles organized into approximately 20 collections spanning disciplines including archaeology, history, literature, philosophy, management, and environmental studies. The core products are physical books and digital books (EPUB and PDF formats), with some titles also available through Open Access on the OpenEdition platform. Publications include edited volumes, monographs, and collective works from researchers primarily affiliated with Université Clermont Auvergne.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Livres papier (Physical Books) Academic books published in physical format across humanities and social sciences disciplines including history, archaeology, literature, philosophy, and management. Sold via the pubp.fr e-commerce site and through French bookstores.
• Livres numériques (Digital Books) Academic publications available in EPUB and PDF digital formats for download after purchase, delivered via email with download links to buyers.
• Ouvrages Open Access Free academic publications available in open access through the OpenEdition platform, allowing free reading and download of certain titles.

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

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Université Clermont Auvergne (UCA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPresses universitaires Blaise-Pascal operates as the university press for Université Clermont Auvergne. The university publishes and promotes research works through PUBP. UCA manages the press on behalf of PUBP.
• Maison des Sciences Humaines (MSH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMSH (Maison des Sciences Humaines) is the institutional host for PUBP headquarters. Located at the MSH facility in Clermont-Ferrand.
• CNRSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) is an institutional partner, appearing as a logo partner on the PUBP website indicating collaborative research publishing relationships.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• CNRS Éditions: Major French academic publisher affiliated with the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), a partner of PUBP. Publishes SHS monographs and journals, sharing both subject matter and the institutional scholarly-publishing mission.
• Éditions EHESS: Publishing arm of the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales. Publishes SHS research output through both monographs and the well-known OpenEdition platform — strong direct overlap with PUBP's subject coverage and OA strategy.
• Classiques Garnier: French academic publisher specializing in literature, linguistics, and humanities monographs with strong digital platform. Direct competitor in humanities scholarly book publishing and OA monograph distribution.
• Les Belles Lettres: Independent French publisher specializing in classical literature, ancient texts, and humanities scholarship. Directly comparable niche academic-publishing business model and scale.
• Hermann (Éditions Hermann): Long-standing French academic publisher covering mathematics, sciences, humanities, and social sciences. Compares to PUBP as a French monograph publisher with institutional research backing.
• Éditions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme (Editions MSH Paris): French academic press also connected to the MSH network (PUBP is hosted by Maison des Sciences Humaines in Clermont-Ferrand). Publishes SHS monographs and offers OA pathways closely comparable to PUBP's model.
• Presses universitaires de Rennes (PUR): Another French regional university press publishing primarily in humanities and social sciences. Highly comparable in size, subject focus, university-affiliation model, and OA adoption.

Emerging players

• OpenEdition: Leading platform for open-access humanities and social sciences publishing in France. PUBP already lists OA titles on OpenEdition; the platform is both a distribution partner and a competing publishing entity for HSS scholarship.

Broad incumbents

• Peter Lang (Peter Lang Publishing): International academic publisher with deep presence in humanities and social sciences, including many French-language titles. Comparable to PUBP in subject coverage though much larger and globally distributed.
• Presses Universitaires de France (PUF): France's largest and most established academic university press, publishing broadly across humanities, social sciences, and philosophy. PUF directly competes with PUBP in the French SHS monograph space but operates at vastly greater scale and brand recognition.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/presses-universtaires-blaise-pascal

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Presses universitaires Blaise-Pascal