Wayne State University Press

Wayne State University Press (or WSU Press), founded in 1941, is a university press that is part of Wayne State University.

History
The Wayne State University Press was founded in 1941 when faculty members of then Wayne University volunteered to establish a publishing entity to “assist the University in the encouragement and dissemination of scholarly learning.” Officially called Wayne University Press, the initial effort was for years only a sporadic activity run by an English professor. It was not until 1954 that the Press developed into a full-fledged publisher destined to have a national and international role in the creation of scholarly books and journals.

About
The imprint of the Wayne State University Press is controlled by the University Press Editorial Board, a group of scholars nominated from throughout the university and appointed by the president to serve three-year terms. The board meets regularly throughout the academic year to consider proposals and manuscripts presented to it by the Press’s acquisitions department. The Press also has a fundraising group, the Board of Visitors, dedicated to raising funds for the Press to support the publication of specific titles.

It publishes under its own name and also the imprints Painted Turtle and Great Lakes Books.

The Press also has strong subject areas in Africana studies, Children’s studies, Fairy Tales and Folklore studies, Film and Television studies, Jewish Studies, and Speech and Language Pathology. Wayne State University Press also publishes six academic journals, including Marvels and Tales, and several trade publications, including American City: Detroit Architecture, 1845-2005 by author Robert Sharoff and A Woman at War: Marlene Dietrich Remembered edited by Marlene Dietrich's grandson, J. David Riva.

The Press is located in the Leonard N. Simons Building designed by famed architect Albert Kahn and is located on the Wayne State University’s main campus in the heart of Midtown Detroit; Cultural Center, one block south of Warren Ave. and two blocks south of the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Detroit Public Library.

Officially, the Press is an auxiliary unit of the university, and receives an annual subvention that partially covers the cost of its operation. For the most part, the Press relies on revenue generated through the sale of its publications to meet its operating expenses.