the university of missouri press is a university press operated by the university of missouri in columbia, missouri and london, england; it was founded in 1958 primarily through the efforts of english professor william peden. many publications are by, for, and about missourians. the press also emphasizes the areas of american and world history; military history; intellectual history; biography; journalism; african american studies; women's studies; american, british, and latin american literary criticism; political science; regional studies; and creative nonfiction. the press has published 2,000 books since its founding and currently publishes about 30 mostly academic books a year.