About Ohio University Press

An Academic Enterprise

Ohio University Press is an academic unit that reports to the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost. The scholarly publishing arm of Ohio University, it operates under the guidance of an Editorial Advisory Board composed of some of the most engaged and acclaimed scholars on the Athens campus.

Originally incorporated in 1947 and formally organized in 1964 by President John C. Baker, Ohio University Press is the largest scholarly press in the state of Ohio. With a staff of twelve, it publishes fifty titles a year and generates more than one million dollars in annual book sales.

In terms of the number of books published annually, its peer group includes the University of Arizona Press, Brookings Institution Press, Northwestern University Press, University of Notre Dame Press, University of Georgia Press, Temple University Press, and University of Virginia Press. There are approximately 600 active titles in the OUP catalog.

Ambassador-at-Large for Ohio University

Ohio University Press has a tangible product that it sends out into the world. Last year, for example, 65,000 books, all bearing the Ohio imprint, were sold to individuals, booksellers, and libraries both domestically and internationally. These books have been carefully edited and produced and are made to endure. Over the course of their existence, they will be touched by many hands. Each book carries with it the scholarly reputation of Ohio University, reaffirming Ohio University’s commitment to the fruits of research and creative endeavor.

By recruiting authors from different universities and institutions around the world, the Ohio University Press also extends the reach of the university’s contribution to scholarly activity beyond the limits of its own faculty.

In recent years, Ohio University Press has published authors from New York University, Texas Christian University, Johns Hopkins, UCLA, Dalhousie University, University of Victoria, Harvard, Northwestern University, Cardiff University, Cambridge, University of the Witwatersrand, National University of Singapore, Waseda University in Tokyo, University of Costa Rica, and the University of Michigan, among many others. By publishing their research and scholarship with Ohio University Press, these scholars can be rightfully claimed as members of the Ohio University family, and their work is part of Ohio University’s endowment to the greater educational community.

National Prominence

The Ohio University Press generates coverage for its activity in local, regional, national, and international outlets year after year in both professional journals and public venues.

Senior editor Gillian Berchowitz at the Polish Embassy

Among the publications of general interest in which Ohio University Press books have been reviewed or written about in the past few years are

New York Times
Los Angeles Times
Times of London
Chronicle of Higher
Education
New York Review of Books
Washington Post
Baltimore Sun
Denver Post
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Cleveland Plain Dealer

Akron Beacon-Journal
Ohio Magazine
Dayton Daily News
Columbus Dispatch
Publishers Weekly
Library Journal
Atlantic Monthly
Wilson Quarterly
The Economist
Hudson Review
New England Journal of Medicine

The scholarly publications in which Ohio University Press books have been reviewed are too numerous to list, but they number in the hundreds. The cumulative effect of these reviews and articles is an increased visibility for Ohio University throughout the world as a purveyor of serious, interesting, and useful work.

The Ohio University Press is an established leader in a number of areas in which it publishes, particularly African studies and Victorian studies. It also has a recognized list in formal poetry, and it is making a name for itself in Midwestern studies, environmental history, and Appalachian studies. As well, it is one of the very few presses that publish high-quality books on Ohio culture and history.

Diversity

The Ohio University Press brings several significant elements to the discussion of diversity. Demonstrating the Press’s commitment to multicultural scholarship, the following is a partial list of the numerous series that the press sponsors as part of its publishing programs:

Other series that the press publishes include

Partnerships

Over the past ten years, the Ohio University Press has developed partnerships locally and nationally to produce books with a number of institutions and associations.

These partners include

The Cleveland Museum of Art
The Cincinnati Art Museum
The Columbus Museum of Art
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
The Buckeye Trail Association
The Center for American Places
The U.S. Capitol Historical Society
The Ohio State Bar Foundation
The Michigan State Bar Foundation
The Indiana Bar Foundation
The Ohio Osteopathic Association
The Ohio Bicentennial Commission
American Indonesian Chamber of Commerce
The Columbus Architecture Foundation
The Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati
The Polish American Historical Association
The Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America
The Northeast Modern Language Association
Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature
The Great Lakes American Studies Association
The University of Arkansas
Amherst College
Central Connecticut State University
Ohioana Library Association

Photograph of Alan Stevens, Allan Harari and Wayne Forrest presenting a copy of the Comprehensive Indonesian-English Dictionary to Ambassador Soemadi Brotodiningrat

Author Alan Stevens, AICC Chairman Allan Harari, AICC President Wayne Forrest present a copy of the Comprehensive Indonesian-English Dictionary published by Ohio University Press to Ambassador Soemadi Brotodiningrat

Within Ohio University, the press has been involved in cooperative projects with the Center for International Studies, the Contemporary History Institute, and the College of Osteopathic Medicine, as well as the dean’s offices on the campuses of Chillicothe and Zanesville.

Swallow Press & Ohio University Press

Unique among university presses is Ohio University Press’s affiliation with Swallow Press. Swallow Press is a distinguished literary press founded in the 1940s by poet, professor, and publisher Allan Swallow. Over the years Swallow Press has published many leading literary lights, including Allen Tate, Yvor Winters, Janet Lewis, J. V. Cunningham, Anaïs Nin, and Frank Waters. Through an arrangement with the owners of Swallow Press, Ohio University Press has managed the acquisition, production, and distribution of Swallow Press titles for over twenty-five years, creating a balanced publishing program that appeals to a diverse mix of readers, from the professional scholar to the educated generalist. This partnership gives Ohio University Press real distinction as a publisher of fine books.

Exterior photograph of OU Press office building

Since 2005, Ohio University Press has been housed at The Ridges, the group of buildings constructed in the late nineteenth century that constituted the former State Mental Hospital, overlooking the Hocking River and the main campus of Ohio University. Working with its Editorial Advisory Board and through the good offices of the Executive Vice President and Provost, it continues to adhere to its mission and to receive recognition as one of the most interesting and dynamic university presses in the Midwest.

“The mission of Ohio University Press is to publish and disseminate the fruits of research and creative endeavor, specifically in the areas of literary studies, regional works, American history, and international studies. Its charge to produce books of value in service to the academic community and for the enrichment of the broader culture is in keeping with the University’s core mission of teaching, research, and service to its constituents.”