Since its founding in 1950, the University of Texas Press has published more than 4,000 books, transforming from a modest regional publisher into one of the most innovative academic presses in the United States. Now producing nearly 100 new titles and 15 scholarly journals annually, the press has emerged as the largest publisher in Texas with authors and readers across the globe.

The Press’s 75th anniversary comes as it continues to balance its founding mission—publishing books for the people of Texas—with an expanding national profile that includes New York Times bestsellers, James Beard Foundation awards, and a critically acclaimed music series. Today, the press's publishing model balances scholarly works with general interest topics including architecture, photography, food, and music, and this dual focus reflects a strategic vision that sees Texas not as an isolated subject but as a lens through which to examine larger historical and cultural narratives.

"The press started as many university presses did, as a pretty small affair, in our case publishing about Texas and Mexico," said Robert Devens, director of UT Press. "Over the years we've added what have turned into really important programs in classics and Middle Eastern studies, music, food—we cover a lot of territory.

While maintaining strong programs in Texas history and regional subjects, UT Press has built what Devens describes as roughly a dozen "big tents"—major subject areas that each contain multiple subfields. The press focuses on humanities and some social sciences, but has strategically avoided STEM publishing, distinguishing itself from some other university presses.

"We're very interested in working on titles that bridge scholarly to trade, from having an important regional publishing program to publishing books in most of our subject areas that address the world," Devens said. "Importantly, those two things aren't separate. When we publish a book on Texas, we want it to connect the culture and history of Texas to larger historical and cultural narratives, rather than looking at the state in isolation."

This approach has proven commercially viable as Texas itself has changed, attracting waves of new residents from across the U.S.

"When Californians come, they immediately start identifying as Texans," said Gianna LaMorte, associate director and marketing and sales manager, who herself came to Texas from Chicago. "They want to get into the culture that we've already been publishing."

Hitting the right notes

Among the press's most successful recent initiatives is its music series, which has achieved both critical acclaim and commercial success. Casey Kittrell, editor-in-chief of UT Press, sees the music program as an extension of the press's core mission rather than a departure from it.

"I believe Rolling Stone had an excerpt from Pat Blashill's book about the birth of Austin punk [Someday All the Adults Will Die], in which he said that part of what the Butthole Surfers did was explain Texas to the rest of the world," Kittrell said. "To a certain extent we are following in the footsteps of the Butthole Surfers in that regard."

One of UT Press’s breakout titles in recent years was Hanif Abdurraqib's Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to A Tribe Called Quest, which became a New York Times bestseller. Recent and forthcoming releases include Mothership Connection by Seth Neblett, which explores the women of Funkadelic, and The Devil Is in It: A History of the American Acoustic Guitar by John Stubbins.

The series has found audiences well beyond Texas borders. "When I go to the regional shows around the country, our music books do particularly well," LaMorte said. "But I always bring some Texas books because there's always interest."

She noted that Steve Harrigan's comprehensive history of Texas, Big Wonderful Thing, has become a staple for the press as well. "I bring that almost wherever I go," she added. The press has also found success with its works of literary criticism, particularly those focused on writers with roots in Texas such as William Goyen, John Graves, Cormac McCarthy, Sam Shephard, John Williams, and Larry McMurty.

UT Press has also played a pivotal role in helping foster cross-cultural connections across the Texas-Mexico border and with Latin America, publishing three influential Mexican cookbooks by Diana Kennedy, including the James Beard Award–winning Oaxaca al Gusto: An Infinite Gastronomy, as well literature in translation including works by Jorge Luis Borges, Pablo Neruda, and Juan Rulfo.

University support continues

At a time when many university presses are facing budget cuts, the University of Texas continues to support its press's mission. UT Press operates as a unit of the University of Texas, with Devens reporting directly to the provost. The press is part of a group commonly referred to as "the gems," which includes the Blanton Museum, the Briscoe Center for American History, the Harry Ransom Center, and the university libraries—collectively known as the campus collections.

"We all have collections of one sort or another," Devens explained. "They're trying to keep their collections within their walls. We're trying to sell ours outside those walls, but there's a certain DNA that we share."

Looking ahead, the press leadership envisions continuity rather than radical transformation. "I hope that we're still doing all the things that we're doing right now," Kittrell said. "We do have as part of our mission to publish books for the people of Texas, and that's been there from the beginning and won't change."

However, the press continues to refine its approach to serving that mission in an evolving market. LaMorte emphasized that the press doesn't simply chase demographic shifts but rather publishes books that help newcomers understand and engage with Texas culture and history.

LaMorte also noted that the press has built strong relationships with independent booksellers nationwide, from First Light Books in Austin to City Lights in San Francisco. "Any time a bookseller clicks with UT Press, having books that are nationally known is really important," she said.

The press's ability to operate at what Devens calls "multiple scales" remains central to its strategy. "We pride ourselves on publishing very serious, important scholarly books that are targeted at pretty niche audiences in their fields," Devens said. "And then at the other end, general interest trade books, some of them about Texas and a lot of them about the country, the world, culture at large."

This range allows the press to serve multiple constituencies: the academic community that relies on scholarly publishing for tenure and research dissemination, the people of Texas seeking to understand their state's culture and history, and general readers nationwide interested in music, food, classics, Middle Eastern studies, and other subjects in the press's portfolio.

As UT Press celebrates 75 years, it stands as one model for how a university press can maintain scholarly integrity while building commercial viability, successfully navigating the tension between regional identity and national ambition, between academic rigor and trade appeal, and between serving a core constituency and reaching new audiences—especially those might have no interest in the state of Texas at all.