Kingston University hopes to bring academic ideas to the general public with the launch of its new commercial publishing arm, which has been five years in the making.

Kingston University Press’ first list of books include a memoir, The Sound of Turquoise by Gill Gregory, ethical philosophy in Finding our Sea-Legs by Will Buckingham, and an account of a friendship with Iris Murdoch.

Dr David Rogers, head of the university’s school of humanities, said: “It’s been a long road but we were utterly convinced that by setting up a press we could disseminate what’s going on in the academic world and therefore contribute to wider debates.

“One of our first books, for example, is on sustainability, which is highly topical given the United Nations Climate Conference in Copenhagen.”

The launch comes despite reports that university presses are struggling during the recession, with Middlesex University Press deciding to stop its presses by the end of the year.

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