The University of Missouri Press is a university press controlled by the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri and London, England. It was created in 1958 by English professor William Peden. Many publications are by, for, and about people from Missouri. The Press also focuses on 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 creation and currently publishes about 30 mostly academic books a year.