With all of the research and academic studies occurring at Ohio University, faculty, administrators and Athens residents need a place to publish.
OU Press — in conjunction with the fiction publisher Swallow Press — publishes articles and books for faculty members, but primarily within the press’ specializations, such as African, Southeast Asian, Victorian and Appalachian studies.
Those topics attract faculty and researchers throughout the country to OU Press, said Gillian Berchowitz, editorial director of OU Press.
“Because a lot of scholarly publication is tied to the promotion and tenure process, a professor always wants to be published by a university press that has a very strong publication record in the area in which they write and do their research,” Berchowitz said.
OU Press, established in 1964, annually publishes about 40 to 45 books, with about 600 titles in its current catalogue, Berchowitz said.
“We balance the scholarly books that we do with fiction partly for the bottom line and partly because we publish for the state of Ohio as well as our internal scholarly audience,” Berchowitz said.
OU Press books are sold online, and in local bookstores, such as Little Professor Book Center, 65 S. Court St.
In order for a book to be published by OU Press, an author must submit a proposal, and the OU Press’ editorial board, which meets about every six weeks, will review it and decide if they want to review the author’s full manuscript.
The editorial board will then find experts in the manuscript’s theme to check how relevant and unique the research is, said Joe McLaughlin, an English professor and an editor of Victorian studies literature on the editorial board.
“It’s an interesting way for me as a school to keep in touch with what’s in the field,” McLaughlin said.
After editors like McLaughlin find experts in their field to review a manuscript, the editorial board reviews the entire manuscript before the press publishes it, said Scott Seaman, dean of OU Libraries and a member of the editorial board.
“I’m not a disciplined expert in all the areas, but all of us should be able to read a manuscript and understand what it’s saying and the general thrust of the argument and whether that’s supported or not,” Seaman said.
OU Libraries has a complete collection of OU Press and Swallow Press literature. OU Libraries spends about $1.05 million every year to update their literature collection, Seaman said.
“It’s some of the most valuable scholarly content available, and we need to make it available,” Seaman said.
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This article appeared in print under the headline "Ohio University press attracts varied and eminent research."
