Being and Aim

COUNTERPRESS is an independent academic press publishing critical and radical scholarship in law and the wider humanities.

We publish books in two streams. Our standard titles offer e-versions downloadable directly from this website on a pay-what-you-can basis, including free access for those unable to pay. Our Gold Open Access titles are freely available to download with no barriers. Paperbacks for both streams are available through online retailers. All e-versions are released under a Creative Commons licence.

Whatever the stream, our commitment is the same: critical scholarship should reach readers regardless of their personal wealth.

Background

We set up COUNTERPRESS in 2013 as a ‘counter’ to the privatizing and excessive profiteering of academic knowledge and to do away with unfair access restrictions to learning materials in a world of uneven globalization. COUNTERPRESS is a natural extension to our successful sister-blog, Critical Legal Thinking (CLT), whose aim has been to contribute to the dissemination of the techniques of critical (legal) theory to the public at large. A blog post is available on CLT ‘Introducing Counterpress‘ and, for a deeper understanding of the spirit behind our intervention, please also read on CLT: ‘Counterpress and Critical Legal Strategy‘.

Focus

Our focus is on publishing academic titles that contribute critical theoretical engagements with the world. While critical legal scholarship is a natural centre of gravity, we are also interested in works that treat legal/juridical, political, social, aesthetic, etc, concerns in a trans- or para-disciplinary manner.

Quality

All proposals undergo a review process drawing upon an international network of academics. Our quality benchmark is set very high. To submit a proposal or other query, please contact us.

Directors

Dr Illan rua Wall
Dr Stephen Connelly
Dr Gilbert Leung