Cambridge Scholars Publishing#History

Cambridge Scholars Publishing aggressively solicits academic authors via email using information found online, such as recently graduated PhD students with offers to publish their theses, or participants in academic conferences, as well as research that would be rejected by other academic publishers for being "not mainstream enough". The vast majority (85%) of the publications are in the social sciences, mostly by authors affiliated with European universities. CSP has a high volume low margin business model, with over 800 new book titles being published by the company each year as of 2023, with only a handful of works selling significant amounts, with the vast majority selling less than "a few hundred copies". The books are typically sold via EBSCO as well as online sites like Amazon, Blackwell’s, and Gardners. Most books are sold in hardback for approximately £80 as of 2023, with some titles that have "broader sales potential" later being sold in softback for a cheaper price around £45 as of 2023. CSP reportedly has an 80% acceptance rate for published works. Books can be published within 3 months of submission, and peer review is generally done by an in-house team, but typically "there isn’t a full manuscript review." and CSP expects a print-ready manuscript to be prepared by the author, with no internal copyediting. A 5% royalty rate is paid to authors for the sale of every book, and less than 50 books need to be sold for a title to be profitable for the company.

The company previously published academic journals{{cite web |title=The following is a list of series in progress |url=http://www.c-s-p.org/Flyers/series_links.htm |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |accessdate=7 April 2020 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130813112321/http://www.c-s-p.org/Flyers/series_links.htm |archivedate=13 August 2013}} including the discontinued titles Zambia Social Sciences Journal{{cite web |title=Zambia Social Science Journal |url=https://www.cambridgescholars.com/search?Q=zambia+social&As=true&As=false |website=www.cambridgescholars.com |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |accessdate=7 April 2020 |archive-date=3 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703202045/https://www.cambridgescholars.com/search?Q=zambia+social&As=true&As=false |url-status=dead }} and Review Journal of Political Philosophy.{{cite web |title=Review Journal of Political Philosophy |url=https://www.cambridgescholars.com/review-journal-of-political-philosophy-13 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |accessdate=7 April 2020}} However, as of 2020, Cambridge Scholars did not publish any journals/periodicals.

In 2017, David H. Kaye's Flaky Academic Journals noted that "the journals do not look stellar. No editorial boards are listed",{{cite web| url=http://flakyj.blogspot.com/2017/09/cambridge-scholars-publishing.html | title= Cambridge Scholars Publishing | date=2 September 2017 | website=Flaky Academic Journals | access-date=25 February 2019 }} but journals are no longer published, and as of 2020, an editorial board of international scholars is now listed.{{Cite web|title=Meet our Editorial Advisors – Cambridge Scholars Publishing|url=https://www.cambridgescholars.com/pages/meet-our-editorial-advisors|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203093454/https://www.cambridgescholars.com/pages/meet-our-editorial-advisors |archivedate=2020-12-03|access-date=2021-04-09|website=cambridgescholars.com|language=en}} Cambridge Scholars made an official statement on the site in December 2018 entitled 'In Defense of Cambridge Scholars'{{Cite web| url=http://flakyj.blogspot.com/2017/09/cambridge-scholars-publishing.html | title=Flaky Academic Journals: Cambridge Scholars Publishing | first=D. H. | last=Kaye | date=2 September 2017}} in which John Peters, an advisor to Cambridge Scholars Publishing, commented on the statements made on the site stating "There are no charges to publish. There is no requirement on authors for a buy-back in return for publication. Royalties are accrued to the author from the first sale of a title. Decisions to publish are not taken on likely sales or profitability (which is unusual in a commercial publisher). The commercial risk to publish rests entirely with CSP."

In February 2018, it was added as a potentially predatory journal publisher to an unofficial continuation of Beall's List of potentially predatory journals or publishers, no longer maintained by Beall but by an anonymous European postdoctoral researcher.{{cite web |title=Beall's list of potential predatory journals and publishers: Update |url=https://beallslist.net/|accessdate=10 September 2023}}{{cite web |title=Changelog |url=https://beallslist.net/changelog/ |website=Beall's list of potential predatory journals and publishers |access-date=1 October 2023}} {{As of|September 2023}} the most recent changes shown on the list were in December 2021. {{As of |November 2023}} a list published by Predatory Reports, "an organization made up of volunteer researchers who have been harmed by predatory publishers and want to help researchers identify trusted journals and publishers for their research",{{cite web |last1=The Predatory Reports team |title=About us |url=https://predatoryreports.org/about |website=Predatory Journals |publisher=Predatory Reports |access-date=12 November 2023}} lists Cambridge Scholars in its list of Predatory Publishers{{cite web |last1= |first1= |title=The Predatory Publishers List (Part 1) |url=https://predatoryreports.org/publisher-list-1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231112102006/https://predatoryreports.org/publisher-list-1 |archive-date=12 November 2023 |access-date=12 November 2023 |website=Predatory Journals |publisher=Predatory Reports}} and discusses it at length in a July 2023 news post which concludes that "Some studies name CSP as potentially predatory."{{cite web |last1= |first1= |title=Is Cambridge Scholars Publishing Predatory? |url=https://predatoryreports.org/news/f/is-cambridge-scholars-publishing-predatory |website=Predatory Journals |publisher=Predatory Reports |access-date=12 November 2023 |date=28 July 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230918100210/https://predatoryreports.org/news/f/is-cambridge-scholars-publishing-predatory|archive-date= 18 September 2023}}

The company was founded in 2001{{cite web |title=Cambridge Scholars Publishing Ltd – Overview | url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04333775 | website=find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk | publisher=Companies House | location=UK |access-date=19 August 2021 |language=en}} by former Cambridge University academics. It relocated to Newcastle when its founders moved to Durham University,{{cite web| title=Newsletter 1 | url=https://www.cambridgescholars.com/policies/Newsletter1.pdf | publisher=Cambridge Scholarly Publishing | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323170117/https://www.cambridgescholars.com/policies/Newsletter1.pdf | archive-date=23 March 2020 | accessdate=31 December 2020 }} and was subsequently sold to a group of Newcastle-based business-people when the original owner left the UK in 2010. The company is now co-owned and managed by Graeme Nicol{{Cite web|url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/04333775/officers | title=CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS PUBLISHING LTD – Officers | publisher=Companies House | location=UK | website=beta.companieshouse.gov.uk}} who bought the company from the original owner in 2011.{{Cite web| url=http://www.noshelfrequired.com/interview-with-graeme-nicol-chief-executive-of-cambridge-scholars-publishing/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516202021/https://www.noshelfrequired.com/interview-with-graeme-nicol-chief-executive-of-cambridge-scholars-publishing/ | url-status=usurped | archive-date=16 May 2020 | title=Interview with Graeme Nicol, Chief Executive of Cambridge Scholars Publishing | first=Mirela | last=Roncevic | date=5 May 2020 | website=No Shelf Required }}

File:Welbeck Road and Walker Library - geograph.org.uk - 106628.jpg

The firm is based in the Lady Stephenson Library, a building that was commissioned in 1908 to house one of Newcastle's early public libraries, given to the city by William Haswell Stephenson and named for his wife Eliza Mary {{nee}} Bond, who had died aged 67 in 1901.{{cite web| title=William Haswell Stephenson (1836-1918), Businessman and Civic Leader | work=Generosity Festival | url=http://www.philanthropynortheast.com/the-philanthropists/stephenson-sir-william-haswell | publisher=Philanthropy North East | accessdate=28 March 2020 | language=en}} The building is now the location of four registered companies.{{cite web| title=Address profile: LADY STEPHENSON LIBRARY, WELBECK ROAD, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, NE6 2PA | url=https://www.companieshousedata.co.uk/a/241269 | website=www.companieshousedata.co.uk | publisher=Companies House | location=UK | accessdate=28 March 2020}}

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{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website|https://www.cambridgescholars.com/}}

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Category:2001 establishments in England

Category:British companies established in 2001

Category:Academic publishing companies

Category:Book publishing companies of England

Category:Companies based in Newcastle upon Tyne