After almost 27 years as director at Harvard University Press, William Sisler will retire on June 30. The search for his replacement will begin shortly.
Sisler began his career in publishing as senior acquisitions editor for Johns Hopkins University Press during the 1980’s. He later worked as executive editor and v-p at Oxford University Press (U.S.A.) before joining HUP in 1990.
Under Sisler’s leadership, HUP has published books by winners of the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, and National Book Award, as well as books from a long line of renowned scholars. Among Sisler’s crowning accomplishments was the publication of Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty, a historical analysis of the distribution of wealth in Europe and the U.S., which became the press’s bestselling book of all time.
Among his accomplishments, Sisler expanded HUP’s footprint in the U.K. and Europe, establishing an independent U.K. office and growing sales and content acquisition for a global audience. Also during his tenure, HUP and its partners launched digital libraries and electronic collections such as the Loeb Classical Library, the Emily Dickinson Archive, and the Dictionary of American Regional English.
“It’s been an honor and a pleasure to have worked at Harvard University Press for so long with so many distinguished publishing colleagues, authors, Board of Syndics members, and faculty at Harvard and around the globe, and to extend the presence and influence of Harvard University Press in the international environment,” said Sisler.
