University of Hawai'i Press

What University of Hawai'i Press does

The University of Hawai'i Press is a scholarly publishing unit of the University of Hawai'i system, founded in 1947 and headquartered at 2840 Kolowalu Street in Honolulu. Operating as a government state entity with a 7-person staff, the press publishes a dual-product portfolio comprising 24 peer-reviewed academic journals and roughly 350+ scholarly monographs spanning Asian studies, Pacific studies, Hawaiian studies, Southeast Asian studies, Asian American studies, philosophy, religion, and global humanities. Its technology stack is built around XML-based digital monograph hosting with deep tagging and advanced search on the Hawai'i Scholarship Online platform, deployed in partnership with Oxford University Press's University Press Scholarship Online, and journal content delivered through Project MUSE. Several fully open-access journals are hosted on the University of Hawai'i at M\u0101noa ScholarSpace repository.

The press generates revenue through three streams: one-time book sales (direct via the uhpress.hawaii.edu storefront, physical Hawaii bookstores, and promotional campaigns such as a 75% anniversary sale), recurring journal subscriptions (sold directly and via Project MUSE institutional access), and recurring institutional digital platform access via Hawai'i Scholarship Online on UPSO. Its go-to-market combines direct-to-consumer e-commerce with B2B institutional licensing and event-driven demand generation through author talks at UH M\u0101noa Library, scholarly conference participation, and University Press Week activities. Customer segments are anchored by academic researchers and university libraries globally, with a secondary long tail of students, educators, and general readers interested in Asia-Pacific scholarship.

The press's competitive position rests on its concentration of editorial expertise in a niche (Asia-Pacific-Hawaii) that commercial publishers have explicitly been documented as unwilling to serve at university-press quality. Major institutional relationships include editorial offices housed within UH M\u0101noa departments (Pacific Island Studies, History, English), the National Foreign Language Resource Center, and the Easter Island Foundation, plus distribution via OUP and Project MUSE that yields readership across 170+ countries. The press is governed as a nonprofit arm of the University of Hawai'i with no external funding rounds, no M&A activity, and no disclosed revenue.

Name

University of Hawai'i Press

Legal name

University of Hawai'i Press

Website

https://uhpress.hawaii.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The University of Hawai'i Press, founded in 1947 as part of the University of Hawai'i system, publishes 24 peer-reviewed journals and 350+ scholarly monographs in Asian, Pacific, Hawaiian, and global studies for academic libraries, scholars, and the general public, distributed directly, through Oxford University Press's UPSO, and via Project MUSE.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic and Scholarly Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313), Periodical Publishers (513120)

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

Academic & Scholarly Journals Publishing (Peer-Reviewed) (MPAJABAC), Interdisciplinary & Multidisciplinary Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAI), Social Sciences Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAD), Life Sciences (Biology, Ecology, Agriculture) Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAC), Communications, Media Studies & Journalism (EDAGABAK)

Keywords

• Scholarly book publishing
• Academic journal publishing
• University press monographs
• Peer-reviewed journals
• Pacific Asian studies

Headquarters

HQ city

Honolulu

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: Sale of scholarly monographs and books directly through the UH Press website and through physical bookstore distribution channels in Hawaii. Includes new releases, backlist titles, and sale items.
2. Journal Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions to academic journals available for both individuals and institutions through UH Press. Journals also accessible via Project MUSE institutional access.
3. Digital Platform Access (UPSO): Annual subscription or purchase of Hawai'i Scholarship Online to libraries and institutions through Oxford University Press's University Press Scholarship Online platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

University of Hawai'i Press is a university press that publishes peer-reviewed scholarly monographs and academic journals in Asian, Pacific, Hawaiian, Asian American, and global studies. The press operates a dual-product publishing program producing more than 350 monographs and 24 journals, distributed through its own e-commerce storefront, Hawaii bookstores, Project MUSE, and the Hawai'i Scholarship Online digital platform on Oxford University Press's UPSO.

Product overview

University of Hawai'i Press is a university press that operates as a dual-product publisher offering scholarly books and peer-reviewed academic journals. The core book publishing program covers Asian, Pacific, Hawaiian, Asian American, and global studies with specialized sub-brands including KLEAR Korean Language Textbooks. The journal portfolio comprises over 24 titles spanning humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, including flagship journals like The Contemporary Pacific, Journal of World History, Mānoa, Pacific Science, and Philosophy East and West. Both products are distributed through digital platforms including Project MUSE (for journals) and the Hawai'i Scholarship Online (on Oxford University Press's UPSO platform), with select open-access journals hosted on ScholarSpace.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hawai'i Scholarship Online: Digital platform launched in partnership with Oxford University Press providing online access to UH Press scholarly monographs
• KLEAR Textbooks in Korean Language

Products and services

• UH Press Scholarly Books Academic and scholarly book publishing program covering Asian, Pacific, Hawaiian, Asian American, and global studies, including history, literature, religion, philosophy, politics, and cultural studies. Includes new releases, forthcoming books, series collections, and special collections such as KLEAR Korean Language Textbooks.
• Hawai'i Scholarship Online Digital research platform hosted on Oxford University Press's UPSO, providing instant online access to UH Press monographs in XML-based format with deep tagging, advanced search, cross-press discovery, personalization, and PDF chapter downloads. Available via institutional subscription or purchase.
• Asian Theatre Journal Peer-reviewed journal covering Asian theatre and performance studies, published quarterly with research articles, reviews, and critical analyses.
• Biography: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly Interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal focusing on life writing theory, history, and practice across all media and disciplines.
• The Contemporary Pacific: A Journal of Island Affairs Interdisciplinary journal providing comprehensive coverage of contemporary developments in the Pacific Islands region including Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia, featuring refereed articles, political reviews, and book and media reviews.
• Journal of World History Quarterly peer-reviewed journal publishing research on global, comparative, cross-cultural, and transnational historical phenomena including population movements, trade, technology transfers, and transnational ideas.
• Mānoa: A Pacific Journal of International Writing Award-winning literary journal featuring American and international fiction, poetry, artwork, essays, and original translations of contemporary work from Asian and Pacific nations.
• Pacific Science Quarterly journal devoted to biological and physical sciences of the Pacific region, publishing peer-reviewed research articles on Pacific ecosystems, marine biology, invasive species, and environmental science. Distributed via Project MUSE and BioOne.
• Philosophy East and West Quarterly comparative philosophy journal publishing research on Eastern and Western philosophical traditions, including Chinese, Indian, Japanese philosophy, and cross-cultural philosophical analysis.
• Korean Studies Peer-reviewed journal covering Korean literature, culture, history, politics, and international relations.
• Oceanic Linguistics Peer-reviewed journal publishing research on languages of Oceania, including Austronesian, Austroasiatic, and other language families of the Pacific region.
• Language Documentation & Conservation Open-access peer-reviewed journal sponsored by the National Foreign Language Resource Center, publishing papers on language documentation, conservation, endangered languages, and revitalization efforts. Published exclusively in electronic format.
• Palapala: A Journal for Hawaiian Language and Literature First peer-reviewed Hawaiian language journal, published exclusively online as a collaboration between UH Press and UH Mānoa Hamilton Library.
• Rapa Nui Journal Peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal serving as a forum for scholarship on Easter Island and Eastern Polynesian region, published in partnership with the Easter Island Foundation.
• KLEAR Textbooks in Korean Language Specialized textbook program for Korean language learning, published as part of UH Press's Asian studies catalog, offering materials for classroom use and self-study.

Quantifiable outcome

• 6,300+ articles read in 170+ countries
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of Hawai'i at Mānoa - Center for Pacific Island StudiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 March 2019Editorial office support for The Contemporary Pacific journal. Founding editorial team included Robert Kiste, Terence Wesley-Smith, David Hanlon, Brij Lal and Linley Chapman. Journal covers Pacific Islands region including Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.
• University of Hawai'i at Mānoa - Department of HistorycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 March 2019Editorial office support for Journal of World History. Founded by Jerry Bentley with Imre Bard as Book Review Editor. Published quarterly, serving as pioneer in world history field.
• University of Hawai'i at Mānoa - Department of EnglishcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 March 2019Editorial office support for Mānoa: A Pacific Journal of International Writing. Founded by Frank Stewart and Robert Shapard. Literary journal featuring international fiction, poetry, artwork, and essays.
• Easter Island FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 February 2018Partnership for continued publication of Rapa Nui Journal (RNJ). UH Press assists with membership database management, journal archives, marketing, subscriptions, warehousing, and shipping. Content available online at Project MUSE.
• National Foreign Language Resource CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 October 2017Sponsor of Language Documentation & Conservation (LD&C), a peer-reviewed open-access journal published exclusively in electronic format by UH Press. Publishes papers on language documentation and conservation topics.
• Project MUSEcoreTechnology or Integration · 3 March 2017Selected as hosting partner to manage and deliver UH Press journal content to librarians and readers. Platform provides search across books and journals, social sharing, RSS feeds, email alerts, and citation saving features.
• Oxford University PresscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 November 2016Partnership to launch Hawai'i Scholarship Online on OUP's University Press Scholarship Online (UPSO) platform, providing digital access to 350+ UH Press monographs with XML-based hosting, deep tagging, and advanced search functionality. Available by annual subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
• National University of Singapore PressminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 17 November 2016Collaboration with other presses to make books available in Southeast Asian region. Co-publishing arrangement that provides conduit through which publications by local scholars can reach wider international readership.
• Association of American University Presses (AAUP)coreOthersMember of AAUP, participating in annual University Press Week activities, blog tours, and industry initiatives.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Oxford University Press: Global academic publisher; UPSO platform host and strategic partner of UH Press. Comparable in journal portfolio and digital monograph distribution but operates at a vastly larger scale and breadth.
• MIT Press: Larger university press with broad academic publishing across sciences, humanities, and social sciences. Overlaps in peer-reviewed journals and digital monograph platforms but operates at a much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Duke University Press: Scholarly university press with significant overlap in Asian studies, area studies, and humanities journals (e.g., positions similar to UH Press's The Contemporary Pacific). Strong direct competitor for library acquisitions and subscriptions.
• Princeton University Press: University press with deep humanities and social sciences list; comparable in monograph output and library distribution. Strong brand prestige similar to UH Press's standing in area studies.
• Stanford University Press: University press with strong humanities, social sciences, and area-studies publishing. Comparable subject overlap in Asia-Pacific and global studies; comparable institutional sales channels and AAUP membership.
• Columbia University Press: Major university press with broad humanities and global studies publishing; substantial overlap in Asian studies, religion, and philosophy. Comparable in institutional subscription models and monograph output.
• Cornell University Press: University press publishing scholarly monographs and journals across area studies, Southeast Asian studies, and East Asian studies. Direct peer in monograph series and journal portfolio.
• University of California Press: Another large US university press with a broad humanities and social sciences portfolio plus area-studies titles. Highly comparable in scale, mission, and revenue model (book + journal subscriptions, institutional distribution).

Others

• Project MUSE: Academic content platform hosting UH Press's journal portfolio. Functionally comparable as a distribution channel reaching institutional libraries; related ecosystem player rather than a direct publisher peer.

Regional players

• University of Hawai'i Press at Manoa Library / Manoa (University of Hawaii): UH Press's parent institution and host of affiliated centers (Pacific Island Studies, Center for Southeast Asian Studies) that co-produce and supply editorial content. Operates in the same geographic and institutional ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/uhpressnews
• Facebookfacebook.com/UniversityofHawaiiPress
• Instagraminstagram.com/uhpress
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/university-of-hawai'i-press

Compliance3 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 University of Hawai'i Press