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The Edwin Mellen Press or Mellen Press is an international
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
company and academic publishing house with editorial offices in Lewiston, New York, and
Lampeter, Wales Lampeter (; cy, Llanbedr Pont Steffan (formal); ''Llambed'' (colloquial)) is a town, Community (Wales), community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the River Dulas, Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third la ...
. It was founded, in 1972, by the religious studies scholar Professor Herbert W. Richardson. The press is a "non-subsidy academic publisher of books in the
humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...
and social sciences" releasing "
Monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...
s,
critical editions Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts or of printed books. Such texts may range in da ...
, collections, translations, revisionist studies, constructive
essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...
s, bibliographies, dictionaries, reference guides and
dissertations A thesis (plural, : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard Int ...
". Most Mellen books are in English but many are also in a variety of other languages, including French, German, Spanish, and Russian.


History

When it was founded in 1972, the press's initial purpose was to publish specialized scholarship produced in Richardson's department at the University of St Michael's College (a
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
institution federated with the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
). Early releases by the press included bibliographies,
translation Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...
s, and
dissertations A thesis (plural, : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard Int ...
completed by faculty and
doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...
students at the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
. Richardson operated the press, initially, from the basement of his home. He named it in honour of his grandfather, Edwin Mellen, who was a lover of books. Richardson's great-grandfather was Isaac Adams, a
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
politician who invented the Adams Power Press, which revolutionized the printing industry. Richardson expanded the press, year by year, publishing works by various scholars outside the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
, and the press's academic publishing programme broadened to the wider
humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...
and
social science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soc ...
s, including the fields of poetry, literature, philosophy, music, education and
biblical studies Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible (the Old Testament and New Testament).''Introduction to Biblical Studies, Second Edition'' by Steve Moyise (Oct 27, 2004) pages 11–12 Fo ...
among others. By 1979, the press had grown large enough to warrant larger premises, which Richardson found in Lewiston,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
and Queenston near the Canada-US border and
Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...
. The press was soon publishing as many as 150 titles a year and the Press opened a UK office in
Lampeter Lampeter (; cy, Llanbedr Pont Steffan (formal); ''Llambed'' (colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigion, ...
,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, in 1987.


Scholarly publishing

While university presses often privilege submissions that will appeal to a wide readership, Mellen Press's main interest is whether a work will advance knowledge – even if it is in a highly specialized research area. The press publishes books written at
doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...
and advanced level – it "values scholar-for-scholar research more than anything" and "the sole criterion for publication is that the manuscript must make a contribution to scholarship". All manuscripts are also independently
peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...
. As a result, Mellen often publishes research that would otherwise be rejected by larger university presses, even on such esoteric topics as the history of the Macadamia nut industry in
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, or the role of parrots in
fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
. Research libraries are the single main market for Mellen Press's books, with the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
holding 4,926 Mellen titles; and
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
holding 4,731 titles. The press's Adèle Mellen Prize is awarded to an author for a book which, in the considered judgment of the press’s independent peer-reviewers, is deemed to make a "distinguished contribution to scholarship". Recipients have included
Joyce E. Salisbury Joyce E. Salisbury is an American historian. She is professor emerita of humanistic studies (history) at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, where she was named Frankenthal Family distinguished professor in 1993. Salisbury is the author of ...
(1985),
Elizabeth A. Clark Elizabeth Ann Clark (September 27, 1938 – September 7, 2021) was a professor of the John Carlisle Kilgo professorship of religion at Duke University. She was notable for her work in the field of Patristics, and the teaching of ancient Christi ...
(1986),
Karl W. Schweizer Karl Wolfgang Schweizer is a historian specialising in eighteenth century European history. Education and academic career Schweizer was born in Germany and was educated at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, where he gradua ...
(1989), Masudul Alam Choudhury (2002), Mario I. Aguilar (2004),
Hilmi M. Zawati Hilmi M. Zawati (Arabic language, Arabic: حلمي زواتي; born in 1953 in Nablus) is an international criminal law and human rights jurist, Professor of Criminal Law, and Chair at the Center for Justice and Accountability (CIAJ). Zawati h ...
(2004), Michael Egan (2006),
Joëlle Rollo-Koster Joëlle Rollo-Koster is a Professor of Medieval History in the University of Rhode Island's History Department. On December 6, 2016, she was knighted by the French government with the medal of Chevalier des Palmes académiques. In 2017-2018 she ...
(2008),
Nikolai Tolstoy Count Nikolai Dmitrievich Tolstoy-Miloslavsky (russian: Граф Николай Дмитриевич Толстой-Милославский; born 23 June 1935), known as Nikolai Tolstoy, is a British monarchist and historian. He is a former ...
(2009),
Anna Novakov Anna Novakov is a Serbian-American art historian, critic, educator, and curator based at Saint Mary's College of California. A prolific writer, Novakov has received numerous awards and grants for her research and art criticism. In addition to he ...
(2009), Bahar Davary (2009), and Sue Brannan Walker (2013), among others.


Selected published works

Mellen authors have included Marcus Borg,
Francis J. Beckwith Francis J. "Frank" Beckwith (born November 3, 1960) is an American philosopher, professor, scholar, speaker, writer, and lecturer. He is currently Professor of Philosophy & Church-State Studies, Affiliate Professor of Political Science and ...
,
Dan Cohn-Sherbok Dan Mark Cohn-Sherbok is a rabbi of Reform Judaism and a Jewish theologian. He is Professor Emeritus of Judaism at the University of Wales. Biography Born in Denver, Colorado, he graduated from East High School (Denver) and was a student at W ...
,
Don H. Compier Don H. Compier became Dean of the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry in Topeka, KS, in July 2014. BKSM is a joint project of the Episcopal Dioceses of Nebraska, Western Kansas, Kansas, and West Missouri. It uniquely seeks to educate candidates for o ...
, David Craven,
Richard Coates Richard Coates (born 16 April 1949, in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, and educated at Wintringham School) is an English linguist. He was Professor of Linguistics (alternatively Professor of Onomastics) at the University of the West of England, Bristol, ...
,
Arthur J. Dewey Arthur J. Dewey is an American teacher, writer, translator and commentator with particular distinction as a New Testament scholar and specialist on the Historical Jesus. He is a professor of Theology in the University Scholars honors department at ...
, Herman Dooyeweerd,
Nancy McCampbell Grace Nancy McCampbell Grace (born January 31, 1952) is the Virginia Myers Professor of English at The College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, where she has taught since 1987. She is a specialist in the Beat Generation, with her research specifically on ...
, Lisa Kahn,
José Manuel Losada José Manuel Losada ( Zamora, 1962) is a university professor and literary theorist with a specialization in the fields of myth criticism and comparative literature. Within these fields he has published several books in Spanish, French and Engl ...
,
Niklas Luhmann Niklas Luhmann (; ; December 8, 1927 – November 6, 1998) was a German sociologist, philosopher of social science, and a prominent thinker in systems theory. Biography Luhmann was born in Lüneburg, Free State of Prussia, where his father's fa ...
,
M. Mukundan Maniyambath Mukundan, (born 10 September 1942) commonly known as M. Mukundan, is an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Many of his early works are set in Mahé (Mayyazhi) which has earned him the moniker, ''Mayyazhiyude Kathakaaran''. He is ...
,
David A. Rausch David A. Rausch (1947-2023) is an author and former Professor of History at Ashland University in Ohio. Education and Career Dr. Rausch received his M.A. in History from Youngstown State University in 1973 with a thesis "The Historical Jesus: ...
,
Thomas P. Riccio Thomas P. Riccio (born 1955) is an American multimedia artist and academic. He received his BA from Cleveland State University in English Literature in 1978, his MFA from Boston University in 1982, and studied in the PhD program in Performance ...
,
Hugh R. Page Hugh Rowland Page Jr. (born 1956) is professor of Africana studies and theology at the University of Notre Dame. He has previously chaired the Africana studies department. He also served as dean of the First Year of Studies (Notre Dame), First Year ...
, Vladimir Shlapentokh,
Ann Snodgrass Ann Snodgrass is an American poet and translator. Life She graduated from University of Iowa, Johns Hopkins University, and from University of Utah with a Ph.D. She lived in the Netherlands, where she taught at Emerson College in Maastricht ...
,
Albert Spaulding Cook Albert Spaulding Cook (born October 28, 1925, Exeter, New Hampshire, Exeter, New Hampshire; died July 7, 1998; Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, Rhode Island) was a noted American literary critic, poet, classical scholar, teacher and transla ...
,
Frederick Stocken (James) Frederick Stocken (born 1967) is a British classical composer, organist and musicologist. Compositions Stocken's music first reached a wide audience with ''Lament for Bosnia'', which was released on CD (becoming the number one best-selli ...
,
Alan Mauritz Swanson Alan Mauritz Swanson (born Chicago, Illinois October 29, 1941) is an American composer and academic who lives in the Netherlands. He took his BA (1963) and MA (1965) at Indiana University and his PhD at the University of Chicago (1973). In betw ...
,
H. Micheal Tarver Hollis Micheal Tarver Denova (born 1958) is an author, historian, and retired university professor, with a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Bowling Green State University. Tarver is the son of Rosemary Tarver (née Rosemary Lucille Denova, 1937 ...
, Jean-François Thiriart,
Huon Wardle Huon Wardle is a social anthropologist teaching at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. He is one of the key ethnographers of cosmopolitanism, and he draws both on philosophical and anthropological theory in his analyses. He is the author of ' ...
, and
Sherifa Zuhur Sherifa D. Zuhur is an academic and national security scholar of the Middle East and Islamic world. She was most recently a visiting scholar at the Center for Middle East Studies, University of California, Berkeley and is the director of the Insti ...
, among others. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *. *.


Reception

Mellen Press has been described, incorrectly, as a
vanity press A vanity press or vanity publisher, sometimes also subsidy publisher, is a publishing house where anyone can pay to have a book published.. The term "vanity press" is often used pejoratively, implying that an author who uses such a service is publ ...
(where authors pay to have their books published) despite the fact that the press is a "non-subsidy academic publisher" and does not accept any payments from authors. The Press has been known to sue critics in defense of its own, and its authors', reputations, with some critics claiming that this has further damaged its reputation (the
Streisand Effect Attempts to hide, remove, or censor information often have the unintended consequence of increasing awareness of that information via the Internet. This is called the Streisand effect. It is named after American singer and actress Barbra Streis ...
). The press's litigiousness dates from 1993, when Robert West (a disgruntled former employee) contacted ''Lingua Franca'' describing
Richardson Richardson may refer to: People * Richardson (surname), an English and Scottish surname * Richardson Gang, a London crime gang in the 1960s * Richardson Dilworth, Mayor of Philadelphia (1956-1962) Places Australia * Richardson, Australian Cap ...
as a "rogue professor" and Mellen as a "
vanity press A vanity press or vanity publisher, sometimes also subsidy publisher, is a publishing house where anyone can pay to have a book published.. The term "vanity press" is often used pejoratively, implying that an author who uses such a service is publ ...
". West urged the magazine to publish an exposé. ''Lingua Franca'' commissioned Warren St John and published his account as the cover story for September/October 1993: "Vanity's Fare: the Peripatetic Professor and his Peculiarly Profitable Press". The article described Mellen as a "quasi-vanity press cunningly disguised as an academic publishing house" and, in particular, ridiculed a book Mellen had published by Joseph R. Washington, Jr., an
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
of Religious Studies at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
. In response, the Press took legal action for
libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
against West and ''Lingua Franca''. The Press's 1994 case against West was settled by West's letter of regret to Richardson for "the difficulties he had with ''Lingua Franca'' magazine and the University of Toronto"; clarifying "I do not believe Herbert Richardson to be a 'rogue professor' nor do I believe that the Edwin Mellen Press was organized to be a vanity operation". However, in 1996, the press lost its
lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
against ''Lingua Franca'' on grounds that the article in dispute was "supported by an honest assessment of the facts at hand when the article was published". In 1998, the press sued
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
concerning a review in one of its publications (the '' Journal of Theological Studies'') which claimed that Mellen was a
vanity press A vanity press or vanity publisher, sometimes also subsidy publisher, is a publishing house where anyone can pay to have a book published.. The term "vanity press" is often used pejoratively, implying that an author who uses such a service is publ ...
. In a subsequent issue of the journal, Oxford University Press repudiated the offending statements, apologized, and published a new book review. In 2009, the press was successful in suing the
philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
Thom Brooks Thomas "Thom" Brooks, (born 14 October 1973) is an American-British political philosopher and legal scholar. He has been professor of Law and Government at Durham University since 2014, the Dean of Durham Law School since 2016. He was previousl ...
(
Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...
) for defamatory
blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
postings, including one entitled "More reasons to avoid Edwin Mellen Press". Brooks was required to pay financial damages and offered his "sincere apologies" to the Press saying he accepts "without reservation that Mellen does not charge authors anything to have their works published" and "now accepts that there was no truth in any of those allegations and that the criticisms he made...were unjustified". In 2012, the press pursued lawsuits against McMaster University and one of its librarians, Dale Askey. While working at
Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...
in 2010, Askey had criticized Mellen Press on his blog (a post he deleted shortly before the Press filed suit). The Canadian Association of University Teachers and others condemned the press for what they called SLAPP lawsuits intended to curtail
academic freedom Academic freedom is a moral and legal concept expressing the conviction that the freedom of inquiry by faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy as well as the principles of academia, and that scholars should have freedom to teac ...
. Martha Reineke, a
Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
of
Religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...
at the
University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and grad ...
, started a
petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offici ...
demanding that the press drop the suits (garnering 2,691 names). In February 2015, the last of the lawsuits was settled out of court. Askey said, "The outcome of this case is essentially a neutral outcome for academic freedom. Both parties walk away from the matter admitting nothing and resolving nothing". In 2013, the Press threatened legal action against The Society for Scholarly Publishing for publishing blog posts containing what it characterized as "disparaging comments" and for allowing "libelous statements" to be posted in the reader comments section on '' The Scholarly Kitchen''. These posts were first removed and then restored in their entirety; but a reader comment which Mellen Press had found objectionable was removed.


References


External links

* {{Authority control Academic publishing companies Publishing companies established in 1972 Book publishing companies of the United States Publishing companies of the United States Publishing companies of the United Kingdom Printing companies of the United States Printing companies of the United Kingdom Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom Book publishing companies based in New York (state) Companies based in New York (state) Publishing companies established in the 1970s Organizations established in 1972 Reference publishers