OBC Annual Report 2025

meson press is a cooperative that publishes experimental, innovative, multi-format open access books on digital cultures and networked media. Our publications challenge contemporary theories and advance key debates in the humanities today. We combine high quality publications ensured by a thorough peer-review with the exploration of new forms and formats of Open Access books. Even though the scholarly book is changing in the age of digital media, we strongly believe in the many virtues of its format for academic communication.

We believe in Gold Open Access. To ensure the authors’ rights as well as the openness of published monographs, meson press is committed to publish under a Creative Commons CC-BY-SA license. 

meson press is a founding member of ScholarLed, a consortium of Open Access Presses bringing together a group of scholar-led academic book publishers, and a member of the Radical Open Access Collective.

Publications this year

In 2025, meson press published 10 open access publications. This includes 5 edited volumes (3 in English and 2 in German) and 5 monographs (4 in English, 1 in German):

• Benedikt Merkle and Bernhard Siegert (eds.): Reckoning with Everything. The Becoming Environmental of Computing. www.doi.org/10.14619/2676. 
• Arianna Borelli and Helena Durnová (eds.): Computing Cultures. Knowledges and Practices (1940–1990). www.doi.org/10.14619/2737.
• Elisa Linseisen and Dorothea Walzer (eds.): Banales Publizieren. Praktiken, Verfahren und Episteme des Selfpublishings. www.doi.org/10.14619/2300. 
• Beatrice Fazi, Alexander R. Galloway, Matthew Handelman, and Leif Weatherby: Digital Theory. www.doi.org/10.14619/0849. 
• Ulrike Bergermann: Property. Colonial Histories and Messages to the Future. www.doi.org/10.14619/0689. 
• Jörg Dünne, Eva Horn, and Birgit Schneider (eds.): Zonen. Für eine kritische Ökologie in den Geisteswissenschaften. www.doi.org/10.14619/2614. 
• Lisa Schreiber: Gefühle Vermessen. Zur Genealogie des Affective Computing. www.doi.org/10.14619/2287.
• Alexandra Schneider and Wanda Strauven: Children Reinventing Cinema. Snapshots from the Early 21st Century. www.doi.org/10.14619/0887.
• Jana Zündel and Philipp Dominik Keidl (eds.): Platforms and the Moving Image. www.doi.org/10.14619/0733. 
• Andreas Broeckmann: The Making of Les Immatériaux. www.doi.org/10.14619/2591. 

Finances

In 2025, we generated 61.985 € in revenue. Our revenue consists of book processing charges, funding from OBC, and book sales. 

The majority of our revenue stems from book processing charges. In the long term, we aim to reduce our reliance on BPCs. However, the German funding landscape remains highly centred around the APC/BPC model. In cases where authors and editors are unable to secure funding, we offer the option to waive the fee. Thanks to the funding received from the OBC, we were able to subsidize selected publications such as Zonen, Banales Publizieren, and Children Reinventing Cinema. Book sales are processed through our print-on-demand providers (Lightning Source and Books on Demand) as well as through direct orders from booksellers. We also receive royalties from University of Minnesota Press generated by our joint book series, In Search of Media, as well as from the Open Humanities Press for the publication In Catastrophic Times by Isabelle Stengers.

Overview: Revenue 2025

More information on meson press’ annual financial report can be found in the German Company Register.

Future Plans

In 2025, meson press welcomed a new cooperative member: long-time collaborator Inga Luchs. Supported in part by OBC funding, she will be employed on a 80 % basis starting in 2026 to assist the press across a broad range of operations. This appointment will enable meson press to expand its scope, allowing us to improve publication accessibility, enhance marketing endeavours, and build a more sustainable business model.