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	'''Pluto Press''' is a ], independent publisher based in London. It was founded in 1969 by ] (a university lecturer, rank-and-file ] ], ] publisher and ]) and others as an arm of ], the forerunner of the ] in the UK~~. In 1979 it ended that political affiliation and became independent. Pluto Press is distributed in the United States by ]~~.		'''Pluto Press''' is a ], independent publisher based in London. It was founded in 1969 by ] (a university lecturer in international politics at the ], rank-and-file ] ], ] publisher and ]) and others as an arm of ], the forerunner of the ] in the UK.

			] (an economist, ] theorist, ], editor, publisher, and author) joined Pluto Press as an editor in 1972. In 1979 the company ended its political affiliation and became independent. Pluto Press is distributed in the United States by ].

	According to the official Pluto Press webpage:		According to the official Pluto Press webpage:

Revision as of 08:15, 5 December 2009

Pluto Press is a progressive, independent publisher based in London. It was founded in 1969 by Richard Kuper (a university lecturer in international politics at the University of Hertfordshire, rank-and-file trade union activist, socialist publisher and organic farmer) and others as an arm of International Socialism, the forerunner of the Socialist Workers Party in the UK.

Michael Kidron (an economist, Marxist theorist, agitator, editor, publisher, and author) joined Pluto Press as an editor in 1972. In 1979 the company ended its political affiliation and became independent. Pluto Press is distributed in the United States by Palgrave Macmillan.

According to the official Pluto Press webpage:

"Pluto Press is one of the world’s leading radical publishers, specialising in progressive, critical perspectives in politics and the social sciences. ... We have more than 800 titles in print..."

University of Michigan Press controversy

In the fall of 2007 StandWithUs criticized the University of Michigan Press for distributing allegedly antisemitic books published by Pluto Press, including those by Israel Shahak and "Overcoming Zionism", by Bard College professor of social studies Joel Kovel.

The controversy was not about the right of Kovel or Pluto to publish the work; rather, critics challenged the propriety of a university press distributing books that did not meet stricter academic review and approval guidelines. Three University of Michigan regents called on UM Press to end its relationship with Pluto Press. The Regents criticized distribution of Kovel's book saying it "debases the press’ franchise and leaves the press and the university open to damage."

The UM press temporarily suspended distribution of Pluto Press titles in August 2007 as it reviewed its $1 million contractual distribution agreement with Pluto Press, but resumed distribution in October saying its relationship was one of commerce, not scholarship. UM press wrote in a statement, "As is the case with all such commercial arrangements, books ... are not edited, reviewed or produced by the UM Press, and they do not bear the imprimatur of the press or of the University of Michigan." But UM also said it would review how such relationships were set up, as "the recent controversy surrounding the contract with Pluto Press has underscored the need for ".

Jonathan Harris, the Christian Zionist director of the Michigan chapter of StandWithUs, said the book was "an anti-Zionist screed that tries to prove Zionism is a horrible, racist ideology that brings about only bad." The director of the UM Press, Phil Pochoda, expressed similar feelings. "The issue raised by the book is not free speech, but hate speech," wrote Pochoda. "Perhaps such vituperative and aggressive rhetoric works for the barricades, but it cannot be countenanced or underwritten by the university or the university press, even in this peripheral, distributed capacity." And Betsy Kellman, director of the Michigan regional chapter of the Anti-Defamation League, was "shocked" by the university's decision. "ADL has often said you can be critical of Israel, but at some point you cross the line and it turns into anti-Semitism," she said. "This book is holding Israel to a very different standard than other countries." "We strongly believe in the First Amendment and are all for diversity of views, but this book deals with anti-Semitic canards and has nothing to do with academic integrity." In December, an editorial in the Detroit Jewish News called on the UM Press to sever all ties to Pluto Press.

In January 2008, the UM Press issued new Distribution Guidelines that Pluto was unable to meet. The guidelines call for "scholarly publishers whose mission is aligned with the mission of the UM Press and whose academic standards and processes of peer review are reasonably similar to those of the UM Press.

Publishing list

Pluto has over 500 titles in print and represents authors from a wide range of progressive political viewpoints, including the following:

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