After several months of interviews with more than 30 candidates, the University Press of Virginia has named Penelope "Penny" J. Kaiserlian its next director.
Kaiserlian, who has been associate director and editorial director of the University of Chicago Press since 1983, will begin duties as director in mid-August.
"She has wonderful experience and a great record at the University of Chicago," said Raymond J. Nelson, an English professor and chairman of the search committee that chose Kaiserlian.
Kaiserlian will take over for Nancy Essig, who retired in April after 12 years as director. As director, Essig doubled the University of Virginia Press sales and printed visible titles, such as Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy by Annette Gordon-Reed.
University of Virginia Press was founded in 1963 to publish scholarly work for higher education institutions in Virginia. The press has an annual income of $2 million and publishes between 50 and 60 new titles a year.
Kaiserlian leaves the University of Chicago Press, which is a larger company that has an annual book publishing income of more than $20 million.
The University of Virginia "press is a very well-regarded small press," Kaiserlian said. "I'm looking forward to being at the University of Virginia doing exciting things, especially with technology."
The University will begin publishing books electronically, in digital rather than paper form, Kaiserlian added.
The press is nationally recognized for series in Victorian studies, Francophone literature in translation and the Civil War.
Kaiserlian said she plans to expand the subjects of books and other publications printed by the University of Virginia Press.
"I hope to see some books published in fields such as architecture and regional publishing," she said.
Originally from England, Kaiserlian said she is eager to leave harsh Chicago winters behind and begin her new job in Charlottesville.
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