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Open access funding for books

UCL authors can now apply for funding to cover the cost of publishing monographs, book chapters, and edited collections with open access. More information, including how to apply, is provided here.

UKRI require open access for long-form outputs from 2024. Find out more.

UCL authors planning to publish a monograph, book chapter or edited collection from November 2023 can apply to publish their work with open access. Open access funding is currently available to UCL authors for book publishing charges (BPCs) and CPCs (chapter processing charges): contact the Open Access Team to apply for funding. UCL also supports diamond/collective open access book publishing models, where authors do not pay a fee. Some funders require authors to make certain types of long-form publications open access. UCL's open access funding for books is currently open to funded and unfunded authors.

Some general information on open access book publishing, and recommended publishers, is provided below. Researchers may find the OAPEN Open Access Books Toolkit helpful with understanding open access book publishing.

Types of open access book publishers, and their publishing models

There are various types of open access book publishers and publishing models, but publishers can typically be separated into those that charge that a book or chapter processing charge (BPC/CPC), and those that don't:

  • Many publishers offer Gold open access in return for a book processing charge (BPC) or chapter processing charge (CPC), chargeable to an author or their institution. The work is published with immediate open access by the publisher, usually with a Creative Commons licence. A typical BPC is around £10,000 and a typical CPC is around £1,500.
  • Diamond/collective open access models are where authors can publish with open access, typically with a Creative Commons licence, regardless of funding or institution, and without paying BPCs. Open access costs are often covered through fees paid by participating libraries, who may receive access to content and other benefits in return. UCL participates in a number of open access book publishing schemes (see examples below).

Examples of book publishers with free open access options

  • UCL Press - fully open access publisher. BPCs are not charged to UCL authors. See UCL Press' page for authors.
  • Central European University Press - publishes both OA and non-OA books. UCL subscribes to their 'Opening the Future' scheme: open access costs for a set number of titles are covered by fees from participating libraries, who receive access to eBooks that would otherwise remain gated (behind a paywall). BPCs are not charged to authors for these titles.
  • Open Book Publishers - fully open access publisher, specialising in Humanities and Social Sciences. BPCs are not charged to authors. UCL has joined their membership scheme, supporting the publication of new open access monographs.
  • MIT Press - their 'Direct to Open' scheme aims to publish all new MIT Press scholarly monographs and edited collections with open access, without charging authors BPCs. Open access costs are covered by fees from participating libraries, who receive access to eBooks that would otherwise remain gated (behind a 'paywall').
  • SCOAP3 for Books - this initiative uses fees paid by members to cover open access fees for new titles in particle physics and neighbouring fields. Current OA books include titles published by Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Springer Nature, Taylor and Francis, and World Scientific.