Dunedin Academic Press was founded in 2000 as an independent academic publisher with no ties to any single academic institution.

Why ‘Academic Press’?

Scotland has a rich heritage of academic publishing. Unfortunately in these times of increased publishing aggrandisement many of the publishers who once flourished in Scotland have become imprints of or have just disappeared into the large publishing corporations based in London and elsewhere. At Dunedin we feel that there is good space for a Scottish independent academic publisher – light on its feet and able to build on the traditions of Scottish academic life and writing.

Do I have to be an academic to read a Dunedin book?

Certainly not! Many of our titles, particularly in the Earth Sciences, history and religious studies are written and produced with the interested ‘amateur’ in mind. Just look at the selection from our list highlighted below to realise that you don’t have to be at a university to enjoy and learn from our publishing. However as a broad rule we define much of our publishing as designed for first year undergraduate study and upward.

What subjects?

In areas such as philosophy, religious studies, education theory, medicine and the natural sciences Scottish thinkers and writers have long exercised an influence disproportionate to their numbers. It is these traditions from which Dunedin starts – although our list is by no means populated only by Scottish authors nor is it constricted to distinctly Scottish subjects.

Why Dunedin?

Dunedin is an old and alternative name for Edinburgh, the city in New Zealand (with which we have no connection) also taking its name from Edinburgh. We are Edinburgh based so it seemed a natural name.

Can I be published by you?

A selection of recent and popular titles:

Introducing Geology ~ A Guide to the World of Rocks
Graham Park

Explains in simple terms what geology can tell us about the world. Many objects of great beauty and which excite our curiosity, such as crystals or fossils are to be found by examining rocks. Copiously illustrated this book is intended for those whose interest in geology has been awakened, perhaps by media coverage of earthquakes or dinosaurs and want to know more. Technical terms are kept to a minimum and are explained in a glossary.

Edinburgh Rock ~ The Geology of Lothian
Euan Clarkson & Brian Upton

Edinburgh’s rocks, formed between 300 and 450 million years ago, afford startling perspectives of the extraordinarily different environments of remote times. Edinburgh Rock is an invaluable companion to those who want to better understand the landscape which surrounds them.

• Read Chapter 5: Silurian of the Pentland Hills

Volcanoes and the Making of Scotland
Brian Upton

Volcanoes have played a major role in the creation of Scotland and while the youngest, a mere sixty million years old, were responsible for much of the scenic splendour of the Inner Hebrides, the rocks composing many of the famous Scottish landforms as, for example, those of Glencoe are also the direct result of volcanism. The book is extensively illustrated and relates what can currently be seen in the worn-down remains of Scotland's old volcanoes to active analogues around the world.

The Kirkwall Ba' ~ Between the Water and the Wall
John Robertson

This is an exhaustive enquiry into the origin and history of this most traditional of all football games conducted with meticulous scholarship and detective ingenuity. The book is also a study of mass football in the British Isles from the earliest of times. The author traces the beginnings of football to ancient fertility rites and follows the story of football’s development stage by stage through street and village green games to modern soccer and rugby.

Just Being There ~ with Bears and Tigers in the North Sea
Andrew Wylie

The author was appointed as the first Chaplain to the UK Offshore Industry in 1985. In this book he tells the story of his ministry as he sought to define and develop the role. He tells how he found his feet amongst the diverse people employed at all levels of work on, and in support of, the North Sea platforms. Andrew Wylie’s innocence of technical engineering matters lends objectivity to his account that may be unique.

Auld Campaigner – A Life of Alexander Scott
David Robb

In his day, Scott was one of the most prominent of Scotland’s poets, renowned for witty, passionate, vigorous poems in both Scots and English. Later he became the first head of the world’s only university department in Scottish literature. This is the first major biography of a hugely influential figure in the Scottish literary scene in the 20th century. Published with support from the Scottish Arts Council

Politics or Religion? The Reformation in Perth 1540-1570
Mary Verschuur

The enthusiastic response by the townspeople of Perth to John Knox’s preaching is widely documented. The question of why this happened in Perth remains unanswered. This account addresses that question of ‘why Perth?’ and reveals some answers. A tradition of radicalism amongst certain burgesses had proved to be eminently successful over the decades preceding 1559. Political activism had resulted in some very successful manipulations of the system of town government and the extension of these processes to religion was a natural progression. This pattern of reform was unique amongst Scottish towns but was to be found in certain continental cities, where laymen’s political ambitions often had as much or more to do with shaping urban reformations than did religious conviction.

The Barony of Glasgow ~ A Window onto Church and People in Nineteenth Century Scotland
Peter Hillis

The Barony Parish was one of the most important parishes in nineteenth century Scotland since it covered almost one third of ‘the second city of the Empire’. This analysis of the parish moves beyond social class to examine patterns of church adherence relating to gender, family ties, households and the links between employer and employee. The picture so revealed is of a complex pattern often cutting across other commitments. The discussion moves beyond the Barony Parish Church to examine similar features of religious adherence in churches and denominations across Scotland. This builds the first national profile of church and people in nineteenth century Scotland.

A Search for the Source of the Whirlpool of Artifice ~ The Cosmology of Giulio Camillo
Kate Robinson

Giulio Camillo (1480-1544) was a poet, scientist and image-maker. Camillo’s secret, revealed in L’Idea, is about man’s relationship to the heavens. Camillo envisaged a living, tangible network of relationships that holds the cosmos in being. Heavenly influences, in the form of ‘celestial streams’, rain down on the earth. Man is as much part of the earth as he is made up of the stars. Camillo did not use mathematics to prove his theories. Instead his conception of the universe is of a vast array of images. Thus the heavens are described by Camillo in terms of visual signs. A Search for the Source will appeal to students of ideas, especially those of the renaissance, the history of science and the history of art.

Scottish Piety ~ A Miscellany from Five Centuries
A. C. Cheyne

This anthology gathers together prayers and praises from writing by Scottish Christians since the time of the Reformation. The extracts quoted range from William Dunbar and John Knox across the troubled times of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to the very recent past. The volume concludes with commentary on a prayer by George MacLeod from Iona. Throughout the text there is linking and explanatory commentary by the late Professor Cheyne distilling his immense knowledge and love of Scottish religious literature in his wry and economic style.

Understanding Islam
Cafer S Yaran

Islam is can be one of the most misunderstood religions. For some people it is a religion of war, whilst for the others it is a religion of peace; as the literal translation of Islam into English indicates. So there is a great need a sympathetic understanding of Islam. The author introduces Islam in its many dimensions covering the main historical, theological, practical, ethical, spiritual, social, and global themes. Islam is presented from a mainstream and moderate perspective.

• Also in the series is Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Sikhism and The Baha'i Faith

The Human Nature of the Singing Voice ~ Exploring a Holistic Basis for Sound Teaching and Learning
Peter T Harrison

Starting from the holistic principle that human beings are ‘designed’ to sing and the author believes that through our voices we are able to communicate our collective as well as our individual humanity. He offers a fresh and lively insight to the understanding of the voice with which we were born for those who seek a comprehensive and sustainable basis for their work.

Playing at Politics ~ an ethnography of the Oxford Union
Fiona Graham

Glamour – ambition – fame – despair. You meet them all at the Oxford Union, possibly the most prestigious student debating society in the world. The author, an academic anthropologist, trailed a candidate for the post of President of the Oxford Union when making a film. This has provided the basis for a study that throws new light on the workings of British politics.