“University presses understand something that ought to be obvious in a country as sprawling and pluralistic as ours: The same book doesn’t have to matter to everybody, but everybody ought to have access to books that matter,” writes Margaret Renkl in her New York Times op-ed about University Press Week 2022.
It’s true! Here at AU Press, we are committed to reducing barriers to knowledge and increasing access to scholarship. That type of work includes careful editorial oversight to ensure clarity and comprehension by the widest readership possible. It includes publishing in accessible digital formats and, of course, in open access formats. It also includes accessible price points, thoughtful marketing, professional design, quality printing, and an extensive distribution system. We are so proud of the work we do and thrilled to have the opportunity to celebrate that work during University Press Week! Join in on the fun with the hashtags #UPWeek, #NextUP, and #ReadUP!
University Press Week always includes a blog tour that helps readers understand the variety of initiatives coming out of university presses. Stay tuned as we update this post daily with the latest stops on the tour.
Friday, November 18: Share the #NextUP bookseller love!
We are presenting a cross-country tour of independent bookstores that we have partnered with over the last couple of years. University of Pittsburgh Press interviews Anna Weber, Events Director at White Whale Bookstore about the role that university presses play in their store. Hopkins Press spotlights Greedy Reads in Baltimore, Maryland. University Press of Florida shares highlights from their authors at this year’s Miami Book Fair and gives a shout-out to the Fair’s bookselling partner, Books & Books. Harvard University Press features Rachel Cass from Harvard Book Store discussing the new store they are opening in Boston’s Back Bay. University of Missouri Press features Alex George, author, owner of Skylark Books, founder of the Unbound Book Festival, and winner of this year’s Midwest Bookseller of the Year award. University of Alberta Press celebrates Glass Bookshop, Edmonton’s newest indie, just about to open a physical location after doing pop-ups during the pandemic. Cornell University Press features two indie stores in Ithaca, NY. University of Washington Press shares a Q&A with owner of Phinney Books. Purdue University Press offers a brief homage to the four local bookstores that support Purdue and Greater Lafayette. University of Toronto Press features a guest post from Leah MacDonald at Another Story Bookshop. Cornell University Press spotlights indie booksellers Buffalo Street Books and Odyssey Books. Columbia University Press features East Bay Booksellers.
Thursday, November 17: What’s #NextUP in publishing?
Temple University Press features their new Transformations book series. University Press of Kansas highlights their new Lyda Conley Series on Trailblazing Indigenous Futures. University of Pittsburgh Press interview Acquisitions Editor Will Hammell about starting new areas of acquisition. Duke University Press’s Charles Brower introduces the Editing, Design, and Production department’s mentorship for BIPOC students. University of Nebraska Press shares their Provocations series. University of Minnesota Press features new developments in the Manifold digital publishing platform. AU Press’s digital reading platform is powered by Manifold! University of North Carolina Press announces their new series, Black Women’s History. Leuven University Press features their book Black Matrilineage, Photography, and Representation which is published in open access and rich in images. University Press of Kentucky offers an overview of their Appalachian Futures series with editor Abby Freeland. University of Notre Dame Press highlights the results of their first-ever Publishing Boot Camp. Hopkins Press features their Internship Program, which has entered its second year. University of Florida Press highlights the editors of the new Caribbean Crossroads series. University of Michigan Press interviews acquisitions editor Ellen Bauerle about a newly emerging Greek/Modern Intersections series. University Press of Mississippi shares a post from Digital Publishing Specialist Rachel Switzer on their new audiobooks program. University of Alabama Press features their internship program. Yale University Press promotes their new Ancient Lives Series. Texas A&M University Press posts about their press TV show on PBS. Penn State University Press shares a post from acquisitions editor Archna Patel about developments in their Africana studies list. Purdue University Press features their director, Justin Race, on the new Navigating Careers in Higher Education series and their new website. University of Washington Press features a Q&A with editors of new series, Abolition: Emancipation from the Carceral. University of Illinois Press highlights exciting changes to their Disability Histories series.
Wednesday, November 16: What Author is #NextUP
Fordham UP features Ron Goldberg talking about his new book Boy with the Bullhorn: A Memoir and History of ACT UP New York. Temple University Press highlights Luis Felipe Mantilla chatting about his first book, How Political Parties Mobilize Religion: Lessons from Mexico and Turkey. University of Pittsburgh Press interviews Ramona Reeves about her experience being a debut author. Cornell University Press interviews Jason Danely about his new book Fragile Resonance: Caring for Older Family Members in Japan and England. Medieval Institute Publications shares a post by first-time author Christine Schott about her forthcoming book Canon Fanfiction: Reading, Writing, and Teaching with Adaptations of Premodern and Early Modern Literature. Hopkins Press interview Andrew Wehrman, author of The Contagion of Liberty. University of Toronto Press shares a Q&A with author Noah Shwartz. Leuven University Press features the experiences of first-time authors writing academic books. University Press of Kentucky shares a Q&A with Yvette Ndlovu, author of Drinking from Graveyard Wells. The University of the West Indies Press interviews Lorna Down and Therese Ferguson. University of Washington Press features a Q&A with Jordan Biro Walters, author of Wide-Open Desert: A Queer History of New Mexico. SUNY Press shares a Q&A with Midny Klegg, author of Punk Rock. Wilfrid Laurier University Press features a guest post by Mary L. Cohen about her new book with Stuart P. Duncan, Music-Making in U.S. Prisons: Listening to Incarcerated Voices. Texas A&M University Press features a post from Anthony Head who shares why he likes to work with university presses. University of Illinois Press features James C. Benton, author of the Fraying Fabric: How Trade Policy and Industrial Decline Transformed America.
Tuesday, November 15: What’s #NextUP in Journals?
University of Chicago Press discusses achieving accessibility in journals publishing. Medieval Institute Publications features their newest journal, Medieval Ecocriticisms. Hopkins Press highlights their new journal, Cusp: Late 19th-/Early 20th-Century Cultures. Duke University Press announces two new journals, Critical AI and Monsoon. University of Pennsylvania Press interviews Jacob Remes, co-editor of the Journal of Disaster Studies. University of Toronto Press interviews Antonia Pop, vice president of their journals division. The University of the West Indies Press features Caribbean Conjunctures: The Caribbean Studies Association Journal. Catholic University of America Press highlights three new journals and new initiatives they’re taking to publicize them. University of Illinois Press spotlights their newest journals, Italica and Journal of Finish Studies, as well as their innovative Illinois Journal Collection with the Scholarly Publishing Collective.
Monday November 14: What’s #NextUP in at your Press
The MIT Press shares blurbs from several MITP acquisitions editors about what is #NextUP on their lists! Hopkins Press spotlights editorial assistant Adriahna Conway. University of Georgia Press has mini profiles of their newer employee and employees in new positions. Duke University Press interviews their new assistant editor, Ryan Kendall. University Press of Colorado interviews two of their editors, Allegra Martschenko and Robert Ramaswamy. University of Notre Dame Press goes behind the scenes of academic publishing with their summer intern, Jacob Kildoo. Princeton University Press interviews their Publishing Fellows in Content Marketing and Editorial. The Publishing Fellowship aims to address a lack of diverse representation across the publishing industry by offering unique mentorship opportunities. Penn State University Press introduces their early-career employees in acquisitions, marketing, and production. University of Toronto Press shares Grusha Singh’s journey of getting into publishing and celebrates a one-year anniversary! University of British Columbia Press interviews Shalini Nanayakkara, their press assistant, about her first year at UBC Press. The University of West Indies Press features Accounts Payable Officer Vanessa Parnell-Burton who shares the path to joining the university press world. Purdue University Press features a Q&A with Andrea Gapsch, an acquisitions assistant. SUNY Press interviews two early-career employees. University of Michigan Press spotlights new innovations.
