As an academic publisher, disseminating scholarly works to meet the requirements of the global academic community is fundamental to what we do. We are therefore fully committed to the principal of Open Access for those authors requiring it, whether by funder mandate, REF or otherwise. Please do let us know when submitting a book proposal that OA is an option you’d like to explore.

As for OA initiatives to date, UWP publishes two fully OA journals: the International Journal of Welsh Writing in English, in conjunction with Open Library of Humanities (OLH), and Wales Journal of Education, with support of the Welsh Government. All academic articles in the IJWWE and WJE are subject to rigorous peer review, and are edited and produced to UWP’s high standard.

OLH is a charitable organisation dedicated to publishing open access scholarship with no author-facing article processing charges (APCs). It is funded by an international consortium of libraries in its mission to make scholarly publishing more accessible and preserved for the digital future.

As far as monographs are concerned, UWP participated in the OAPEN project in association with JISC, which sought to analyse the impact of OA on monographs. As a result, three UWP books are fully available on OAPEN’s website (www.oapen.org):

UWP is also involved in the Move-It-Forward project, the follow-on project from the Mellon Foundation-funded Pay-It-Forward project with University of California, Davis, which sought to investigate what a fully Gold Open Access environment would look like for large, research-intensive institutions. Move-It-Forward aims to identify practical, short-term methods and targets for transitioning existing closed-access scholarly journals to open access models.

UWP has also published individual chapters in edited volumes as OA (in Understanding Celtic Religion and Crime Fiction in German) and a number of journal articles under the Gold OA regime.

Recently we have published three OA titles with the support of major funding bodies:

Authors should be assured that all OA content is subject to the same rigorous high standards as other UWP content: fully peer reviewed, copy-edited and proofed, typeset and marketed.

UKRI has published additional guidance and resources to support funded research organisations and researchers to be ready for the organisation’s new open access policy:

Journals: Peer-reviewed research articles that acknowledge UKRI funding will need to comply with UKRI’s new open access policy from 1 April 2022.

Monographs/edited collections and book chapters: the new UKRI open access policy will also apply to monographs, book chapters and edited collections from January 2024. Further details will be published later in 2022.

Authors are advised to access UKRI’s OA pages for further information and guidance. The OA policy for the Future Research Excellence Programme is also being developed, with an update expected later in 2022.


TYPES OF OPEN ACCESS

there are two types of OA: Green and Gold                                           

Green: used for self-archiving whereby an author accepted manuscript (AAM)[1] is deposited in a university or non-commercial subject repository with an embargo period after which the content is made OA.

Gold: the publisher’s version of the content is made OA immediately on publication after payment of an APC (Author Processing Charge for journals) or a BPC (Book Processing Charge) for monographs.


LICENSING

for both Green and Gold OA

UWP, in common with other university presses, recommends CC BY NC ND: Creative Commons By Attribition Non Commercial No Deriviatives. Here’s a breakdown of what it means, and what you can and can’t do:

  • CC: anyone may share or download your work
  • BY: you must always be credited as the author
  • NC: OA version must not be used or sold commercially
  • ND: No one is allowed to change your work

However, if a funder mandate requires a different CC BY licence, please contact UWP’s Commissioning Department to discuss.


JOURNALS

UWP offers Green and Gold OA models, both of which can be used for UK authors to meet the OA requirement for journals for REF 2021.

Here’s what to do:

Green: for self-archiving; authors can self-archive the AAM of their article in a university/non-commercial subject repository, or personal website/departmental website.

It can be available to download 18 months after the published version in UWP’s journal.

The abstract should contain a full citation of the published article (to include author name, name and issue of journal, year, ISSN, DOI link, and name UWP as publisher).

It is the responsibility of the author to ensure any necessary permissions for third party copyright material have been cleared for OA. You will also need to mark this content clearly and state the terms under which it has been made available, so as to prevent re-use without seeking the express permission of the original copyright owner. If you are unable to clear permission to use the material within an OA format, you may not legally use it. UWP does not own this material so cannot grant permission.

Gold: by paying an APC, we can publish your article on a Gold OA basis, i.e. it is made OA immediately on publication of UWP’s journal. If you require Gold OA, please contact UWP’s Commissioning Department in advance of submission of the journal manuscript by the journal Editors. The APC is payable before the journal as a whole is formally handed over to the editorial and production processes.

The version of record can be uploaded to non-commercial repositories of the author’s choice. It will also be OA on Ingenta, the journal hosting platform used by UWP.

License for both Green and Gold OA: UWP recommends CC BY NC ND. However, if a funder mandate requires a different CC BY licence, please contact UWP’s Commissioning Department to discuss.

We comply fully with the open access requirements of UKRI, Wellcome, and NIHR. Where required by their funder, authors retain the right to distribute their author accepted manuscript (AAM), such as via an institutional and/or subject repository (e.g. Europe PMC), under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence for release no later than the date of first online publication.  


BOOKS

As noted above, OA for monographs has been mandated for REF 2027. A Universities UK working group has been considering the practical challenges of the mandate, and is working out what is actually possible in the UK context. Its findings are expected over the coming months, and UWP will monitor them closely.

The OA model applies only to monographs and edited volumes (one chapter only of each), and does not apply to reference works or textbooks.

Here’s what to do:

Green: Monographs

For self-archiving:

  • One chapter only of the author accepted version
  • The chapter can be deposited after an embargo period of 36 months after publication of the contracted UWP version, which must be acknowledged in the abstract
  • The 36-month embargo period runs from the publication date of the latest published version of the book; if there is a hardback followed by a paperback, the 36-month period runs from the date of the paperback
  • The author accepted version can only be a uploaded on a non-commercial, non profit platform
  • It must include a citation to the UWP published version, and link to the published edition on the UWP website
  • The published chapter by UWP cannot be uploaded
  • The entire author accepted version of the manuscript can never be uploaded anywhere
  • It is the responsibility of the author to ensure any necessary permissions for third party copyright material have been cleared for OA; you will also need to mark this content clearly and state the terms under which it has been made available, so as to prevent re-use without seeking the express permission of the original copyright owner. If you are unable to clear permission to use the material within an OA format, you may not legally use it. UWP does not own this material, so cannot grant permission.
  • You can publish the metadata of your chapter anywhere (title/author name/brief description/ISBNs etc.)


Green: Chapters in edited volumes

  • Each contributor can archive their own chapter under the same conditions as for Monographs (see above)
  • The entire author accepted version of the manuscript can never be uploaded anywhere


Gold: Monographs

UWP permits Gold OA for monographs in their entirety and for individual chapters in edited volumes; permission does not extend to reference works or textbooks etc.

  • UWP’s Gold OA policy permits the UWP published version of the edition of the work to be uploaded immediately on publication in an institutional respository, and on an OA platform such as the OAPEN Library
  • For Gold OA, payment of a BPC will be required
  • Please contact UWP’s Commissioning Department regarding the BPC, which will be calculated on the word extent of the book, number of colour images etc.
  • Format: PDF file as prepared by UWP
  • The publication of an ebook, for example Kindle and POD (print on demand), will be decided on the basis of each individual title at UWP’s discretion, based on the demand for these formats
  • It is the responsibility of the author to ensure any necessary permissions for third party copyright material has been cleared for OA. You will also need to mark this content clearly and state the terms under which it has been made available, so as to prevent re-use without seeking the express permission of the original copyright owner. If you are unable to clear permission to use the material within an OA format, you may not legally use it. UWP does not own this material, so cannot grant permission
  • The Gold OA version is uploaded as follows: once final proofs approved, the Version of Record is placed on OAPEN and other platforms, to include metadata.
  • The author may place the Version of Record on any additional non-commercial repositories of their choosing.

Gold: Chapters in edited volumes

UWP permits Gold OA of individual chapters in edited volumes; it does not apply to chapters in reference works or textbooks.

  • UWP’s Gold OA policy permits the UWP published version of the chapter to be uploaded immediately on publication in an institutional repository and on an OA platform such as the OAPEN Library
  • For Gold OA, payment of a BPC will be required
  • Please contact UWP’s Commissioning Department regarding the BPC
  • Format: PDF file as prepared by UWP
  • The publication of an ebook, for example Kindle and POD (print on demand), of the entire work will be decided on the basis of each individual title at UWP’s discretion, based on the demand for these formats
  • It is the responsibility of the author to ensure any necessary permissions for third party copyright material has been cleared for OA; you will also need to mark this content clearly and state the terms under which it has been made available, so as to prevent re-use without seeking the express permission of the original copyright owner. If you are unable to clear permission to use the material within an OA format, you may not legally use it. UWP does not own this material, so cannot grant permission.
  • The Gold OA version is uploaded as follows: once final proofs approved, the Version of Record is placed on OAPEN and other platforms, to include metadata
  • The author may place the Version of Record on any additional non-commercial repositories of their choosing

Licensing for Green and Gold OA:

UWP recommends CC BY NC ND; however, if your funder mandate requires a different licence, please contact UWP’s Commissioning Department in advance. For monographs, the copyright page in the book will declare CC BY NC ND unless otherwise stated; for chapters in edited volumes, the preliminary pages will include a note stating that the chapter is included under a CC BY NC ND licence.


FAQs

Here are a few common questions – we don’t pretend to have covered everthing, so please ask us if you have any queries at all, and we’ll do our very best to respond in way which will help you. OA is uncharted territory, and it may take some time before the consequences (both intended and unintended) are apparent.

  • Is there a difference between a ‘standard’ non OA monograph and an OA version?

No, they are the same, except the OA version isn’t printed on publication. The processes and procedures are the same. All UWP monographs, irrespective of OA, are subject to rigorous peer review, copy-editing, proofing, layout etc. Please note, however, that manuscripts that are not positively peer-reviewed will not be published, even if the author has secured a BPC.

  • When should I let UWP know I need OA?

In our Proposal Questionnaire, we ask a question about your needing OA for your monograph, and if you have a self-archiving requirement. Please let us know in principle in your Proposal, and we will then discuss your requirements with you. It will help us to have as much detail to hand as early as possible.

  • If I need Gold OA, when does the APC/BPC need to be paid?

It needs to be paid before a manuscript goes into production.

  • What if I signed a contract for a non-OA book, and I subsequently find I need it for OA?

We can convert it into our OA programme as long as it hasn’t gone into production, and if the BPC is paid prior to the manuscript going into production. Please contact us to discuss at the earliest opportunity.

  • Will I receive royalties on an OA version?

If the book is also made available on POD and/or as an eBook, you will be paid a royalty on those formats.

[1] An Author’s Accepted Manuscript (AAM) is the version accepted for publication following peer review but prior to copyediting and typesetting