In changing market, U. press charts uncertain course

The University of Pennsylvania Press is one of the largest academic publishing houses in the United States. Far from the pages of The New York Times bestseller list, there exists a world where John Grisham and Stephen King are virtual unknowns and book sales are measured in the thousands, not millions. This is the world of academic publishing, in which the University of Pennsylvania Press, the official publishing house of the University, is a major player. The Press "hopes to shape the public image of the University" by publishing works not "mainstream" enough for larger houses, according to its director, Eric Halpern. Incorporated in 1890, the Penn Press is one of the oldest university presses in the country, and its output is among the top third nationwide. In several fields -- particularly Medieval Studies -- the Press provides "the premier list in the country," Halpern said. But the Press still faces a number of challenges to its success. Although its annual output of 75 new books yielded 1997 revenues of about $2 million, the Press is only "close to breaking even," mainly due to a limited market and high production costs, Halpern said. "We're supposed to break even," he added, noting that the Press has in past years shown a small profit. But the Press relies heavily on Penn's ability to support it in the lean years, Halpern said. Like its parent, the Press is non-profit and does not pay taxes. "Academic publishing is always by its nature a form of subsidized industry," he added. "Financially we are a creature of the University." Halpern said he hopes to expand the Press' sales revenue, which currently only meets 80 percent of its expenses. The Press' survival strategy is to target several books of "general appeal" for sale to a more mainstream audience, he said. While some titles may sell as few as 750 copies, one such targeted book, ABC of Architecture by James O'Gorman, sold nearly 10,000 copies in its first month -- becoming the fastest-selling title in Press history. The New York Times praised O'Gorman's book as "the best-written work on the subject in English for lay people." The Press also hopes to reach a large mainstream audience with the Penn Greek Drama Series, a 12-volume set of ancient works in modern translations. Halpern insisted that this increased focus on mainstream publishing will not affect the number or quality of the Press' more scholarly publications. Instead, the Press will expand its number of "broader appeal" books by considering scholarly works for a larger audience. Yet to break even, the Press must seek other revenue sources. Traditionally, the Press sells the rights to translate or reprint Press publications, to make up much of the deficit. Additionally, the Press has agreements with Maryland Public Television and Paramount Pictures to sell the documentary and film rights to Vivien Thomas' Partners of the Heart. The MPT documentary is due to be aired later this year, although plans for a film version are not final. To ensure a continued source of funds, Halpern has begun to raise money for a Press endowment. He hopes to raise $5 million in five years. University presses must increasingly adapt to the implications of their own growth. Today, the members of the Chicago-based Association of American University Presses -- including Penn -- publish 8,000 titles a year, up from only 2,300 25 years ago. With more books published, the theory holds that fewer copies of each will be sold. Thus, the presses must concentrate their resources on the most profitable projects. "It's not a matter of whether to specialize, but how to specialize," said Folklore Professor Margaret Mills, a member of the Press' seven-member Faculty Editorial Board. "We cease publication in fields we cannot support [and are] constantly exploring new fields," Halpern said. "There is constant flux at the margins of the program." For instance, the Press recently stopped publishing in Italian studies, but it has added science and medicine to its list of published disciplines and has upgraded its efforts in American history and architecture. "We have more ideas than we can possibly fund," Halpern said. If the current industry trend toward specialization continues, "an awful lot of work is not going to get published," said History Professor Edward Peters. Peters and fellow History Professor Alan Kors co-authored Witchcraft in Europe, which with more than 15,000 copies in print is among the Press' best sellers. The rejection of academic work in currently unprofitable fields may lead to cheaper, technology-driven innovations. The Press is set to release two CD-ROM editions of books. Peters expressed enthusiasm about on-line scholarship. "It's already started but it can't do anything but increase," he said. Halpern, on the other hand, is unsure of the future of academia in cyberspace. "As a publisher, I don't view the electronic medium as particularly promising," he said. "I'd rather not look at it as a last ditch effort." Halpern said the upcoming Press CD-ROM editions of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and James Joyce's Ulysses are two rare examples of a suitable application of technology to academic publishing. "No one's making money [in Internet publishing] right now," he said. "But everyone's interested." Faced with financial insecurity and technological change, Halpern nevertheless sees a promising future for his 108-year-old publishing house. "With fewer and fewer and larger and larger commercial publishers? university presses [will be] more important as a source of quality books," Halpern said, noting that the Penn Press and its contemporaries are already responsible for one out of every seven or eight books published. "Scholarship keeps getting done," Peters said. "University presses have to survive."

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