Malcolm Litchfield, formerly an acquisitions editor for the Princeton University and University of Michigan Presses, has been named director of the Ohio State University Press.
Founded in 1957, the press publishes an average of 35 titles a year -- a number Litchfield hopes to bump up to "50 or 60 in the next four or five years." Litchfield also announced his intention to refocus the program's energies on academic and scholarly titles. "A lot of university presses," said Litchfield, "feel the allure of trade publishing. But the risk is also much higher. The best thing a press our size can do is to focus on what we do best."
In 1998, Ohio State University Press reported $1.5 million in sales. Litchfield told PW the strengths of the press include narrative studies, women and health, business history, Victorian studies and criminology.
