News: Academic Publishing Weekly

OUP acquires Karger, Pledge to Open releases 32 new books, and the Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction crowns a winner

Posted on November 7, 2025 in News

Oxford University Press Acquires Health Sciences Publisher Karger

In the kind of announcement you rarely see in the world of university presses, Oxford University Press said it is buying Karger Publishers, a family-run health sciences publisher based in Basel, Switzerland. The deal is expected to close in December. Karger, founded in 1890, publishes about 100 peer-reviewed journals and maintains a backlist of around 9,000 books. Terms of the deal were not released. In a statement, Gabriella Karger, Chairwoman of Karger Publishers, said the company undertook “an extensive process” to find the right buyer. “Oxford University Press represents the best possible choice,” she said. “Karger becomes part of a publishing house that has even a longer history, going back to the 15th century, and reflects our values and dedication to high quality publishing.” OUP reported total turnover of £795.7 million in fiscal 2025, ending in March. Net profits were £61.4 million.

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Pledge to Open Concludes Second Year and Opening the Future Gains Publisher Support

Taylor & Francis’s Pledge to Open has wrapped up its second year, announcing 32 new open access books to be published under the model. Focusing on “key global themes,” the publishing program now welcomes Revitalizing the United Nations and The Foster Family in the Service of the Foster Child to its roster. T&F confirmed that the library collective action model will continue for a third year, inviting institutions to join in support of forthcoming titles on AI, climate change, sustainability in practice, and more. In other OA news, Boydell & Brewer announced its participation in the Opening the Future (OtF) program, marking the publisher as “the first non-University Press to take up the OtF model.” Announced in partnership with Lyrasis and Fulcrum, the program funds new OA monographs and offers libraries “perpetual, DRM-free access to curated backlist books at discounted prices,” hosted by Michigan Publishing.

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Submitting an Authentic Research Article? Prove it!

The days of equating article submission volumes to journal cache are over, argues Tim Vines, Founder of and Project Lead on DataSeer, in a post on The Scholarly Kitchen. Or, for the sake of the scholarly communications industry, they should be over. Vines quickly dismantles the “more is better” strategy by noting that more volume means more junk, more screening, and a concomitant and unsustainable rise in editorial costs. Next, Vines adds that using manuscript volume as a performance indicator inevitably creates a reluctance for stricter submission qualifications. Adding any friction to the submission process decreases volume. And then we find ourselves back at, well, see Vines’s previous point. The fix, says Vines, is straightforward: “…require that authors demonstrate their commitment to quality science before we let them in the door.”

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Survey Galore: Researchers on AI and Small Publishers Share Challenges

Elsevier released its Researcher of the Future survey this week, with “insights into how researchers view the rapidly evolving research landscape.” Research Information covered major takeaways, revealing researchers’ mixed feelings on using AI in research—despite an overall increase in use, there’s variation in where researchers apply it and overall confidence in the technology. The survey also covered a growing pessimism in research funding, an uptick in collaboration across disciplines and regions, and the ever-increasing pressure to publish. Next, the latest report from Scholastica and Maverick Publishing Specialists looked at small- and medium-sized publishers. Open to those working at publishers with fewer than 1,000 employees, the report examined publishers’ technology needs, attitudes toward AI, and current challenges. The survey concluded that the publishers “overwhelmingly rely on vendors to maintain their operations, and many will require support to address research integrity risks while balancing resource constraints.”

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Baillie Gifford Selects a Winner and a Microsite on Scholarly Publishing

After sharing its longlist in early September, the Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction announced its winner, How to End a Story: Collected Diaries by Helen Garner from Orion Publishing Group/Weidenfeld & Nicolson. The book is a collection of Garner’s diary entries, charting her rise from burgeoning writer to accomplished novelist. How to End a Story marks the first diary collection to win the award. In other news, the STM Association released Publishing Decoded, “an educational resource designed to explain what scholarly publishing comprises to stakeholders outside the publishing industry.” Geared toward “journalists, policymakers, funders, and academic stakeholders,” the microsite explains the ins and outs of scholarly publishing from publishing workflows to peer review processes to open research practices.

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