Christopher Riches has worked in publishing for over 30 years, both for Oxford University Press and for HarperCollins Publishers. His particular expertise is in reference publishing. From 1994 to 2006 he was Editorial Director for Text Reference with HarperCollins Publishers, based in their Glasgow office. Before joining Collins in 1989, he spent 13 years with Oxford University Press, where he worked on education and reference titles, including nearly five years as Publishing Manager of OUP in Hong Kong. He left Collins in the summer of 2006, and established Riches Editorial Services to meet the editorial and publishing needs of publishers. Whilst at Collins, he was responsible for a wide range of books, including:

• Collins Gem series (over 100 pocket-sized guides on many topics from Antique Marks to Calorie Counting and Whisky to the SAS Survival Guide).
• Collins subject dictionaries for students (for example, Dictionary of Economics, Dictionary of Marketing, Dictionary of Medicine).
• Market-leading Collins phrasebooks.
• Encyclopedias and reference guides (such as the Collins Encyclopedia, a 10-volume series for Book Club Associates).
• Titles in conjunction with The Times newspaper, including the renowned annual Times Good University Guide (‘It is difficult to see how anyone could make a realistic university choice without studying John O’Leary’s handy annual guide’ – Sue Elkin).
• Scotland the Best – the award-winning, best-selling Scottish guide (‘Scotland is the best small country in the world, and this book proves it’ – Jack McConnell, Scotland’s First Minister, at the launch of the 2006 edition).

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