Alex Wright

Head of the Humanities Group, managing a team of editors acquiring academic books in the fields of literature, philosophy, classical studies, religious studies, archaeology, music and theatre (including Shakespeare). I also commission across the Humanities lists, especially (but not exclusively) in theology, esotericism, religion, classical and magical studies. I have a particular interest in expanding the general Humanities trade and Academic Impact programmes, and thus trying to reach beyond our core readerships. As I see it, the Humanities remain crucial not only as the repository of foundational liberal arts and Renaissance ideals but also, arguably, as the best part of ourselves. As their very designation suggests, these are the disciplines which collectively express our most vital humanity: our essential, embedded ‘human-ness’; or, again, our innate desire as human beings to articulate a deep-rooted perception of identity which aspires towards a defining principle of self-transcendence. I believe passionately in the power of the written word to challenge and change ideas, and in changing ideas also to transform lives.

At a time when Humanities scholarship is under increasing pressure to justify its true ‘value’ - usually understood in a rather narrow and fiscal sense – I see my fundamental role as being to demonstrate (both practically, in the books that we publish, and conceptually, in articulating their wider significance) how and why the Humanities (especially CUP Humanities) continue to matter – perhaps now to a greater degree than ever before.

LinkedIn: Alex Wright

“I believe passionately in the power of the written word to challenge and change ideas, and in changing ideas also to transform lives.”