Write to Publish 2012: Step into Genre with Ooligan Press

Recently I have had a couple of conversations that made me feel how badly I have neglected my blog. I cannot do much about it at this moment, as I have three projects over my head. However, I would like to take this opportunity to mention Write to Publish, an exciting publishing conference from Ooligan Press, held at Portland State University this Saturday, April 28 (all the info is there on the website). Several panels are offered, which provide a wealth of information on the publishing process. Also, $10 gains admission to the author stage, which runs from 9 am to 6 pm. Lilith Saintcrow, at 4:30, totally rocked the 2010 Write to Publish, so it’s great to see her back.

So if you’re in Portland this weekend, get yourself to Write to Publish. It’s good times, it’s book times, and proceeds support Ooligan Press and the Publishing Program at PSU.

Ooligan in Publishers Weekly

Our plight affects the larger sphere of book publishing. Read this short article in Publishers Weekly to learn more about how my beloved graduate program in book publishing is at risk. Please spread the word and help write letters of support.

 

Help Spread the Word

Please help spread the word about Ooligan Press by sharing the information at the Save Ooligan website (http://ooligan.pdx.edu/?page_id=3558) with your friends, family, and network. Hey, share it with complete strangers, even! My thanks,

Karen

A Plea for Publishing

Everyone: the Publishing Program (from which I received my graduate degree) is in danger. We need your help. If you care about the literary community in Portland and beyond, visit this site and lend a hand. Please. Nothing I have ever posted on this blog is more worthwhile, important, or urgent.

Help save the Portland State University Publishing Program and Ooligan Press: http://ooligan.pdx.edu/?page_id=3558

This is just a message to get the word out. I will post updates as often as I can.

It was right to publish

So, how did Write to Publish go? It went well. I spent seven hours there (10 am to 5 pm), but the time passed smoothly. I met interesting people and, as always, I am delighted by the number of folks out there who say they have always loved science.

I had a table at the Industry Mingle, and I laid it out like a science fair project, complete with an experiment. The experiment was me. In brief, I told the tale of my earning a Master of Science degree in Writing: Book Publishing and then going into a field (astrobiology) that I had never expected to enter but that I now enjoy. Yes, the Masters in Book Publishing program can take you to new and exciting realms.

I wanted to make my display interactive, so I thought of candy. But I didn’t want to give out just any old type of candy. I wanted to give out science candy. To that end, I had bowls of red hot candies, mints, and Jolly Ranchers. The candy that you choose reveals what kind of extremophile you are: red hot candies are thermophiles, mints are psychrophiles, and Jolly Ranchers are acidophiles. Acidophiles predominated, with a smaller number of psychrophiles. I encountered only one or two thermophiles. (Reflecting on all this, I realize that I should actually have taken notes so that I could present quantifiable data.)

Not to Be Missed: Write to Publish, May 22-23

Let us take some time away from AbSciCon to talk about a conference coming up next weekend: Write to Publish at Ooligan Press. This two-day conference offers writers valuable insight into the publishing process. Have you ever paused, pen (or keyboard) in hand, and wondered, “How does publishing happen? What do I need to know to have a successful publishing experience?” If you have, Write to Publish is for you.

Saturday, May 22, the conference begins with Workshop Day, wherein you may take your choice from a number of substantive workshops. Topics include writer-agent relationships, self-publishing dos and don’ts, copyright law, and online marketing. These workshops are taught by professionals in the publishing industry—you are getting the real deal. For $130, you can attend a full day of five workshops. Or you can attend single workshops for $32 each. Tickets are available from the Portland State University box office at (503) 725-3307.

Oh, and the professionals who are offering these workshops? Here are some of them:

• Vinnie Kinsella of Declaration Editing is offering the workshop on How to Polish Your Manuscript
• Brett Warnock of Top Shelf Productions and Aaron Colter of Dark Horse Comics: Graphic Novels: Publishing and Process
• Bernadette Baker-Baughman of Baker’s Mark Literary Agency: An Agent on Writer/Agent Relationships
• Bo Johnson of Bowler Hat Comics: Writers, Conventions, and the Web: A Friendship
• Ali McCart of Indigo Editing: The Dos and Don’ts of Self-Publishing

And these are just a few of the presenters. Check out the Write to Publish website for the full list.

Sunday, May 23 is Open House Day. This day packs two doses of awesomeness in the form of an Industry Mingle and an Author Stage. The mingle will be your chance to meet and chat with a diverse group of publishing professionals. For example, I will be there with my table about science editing! Check out the Industry Mingle website to see a list of the attendees.

Ursula K. Le Guin, Chuck Palahniuk, and Shannon Wheeler! These are just three of the authors who will discuss their publishing experiences on the Author Stage. For goodness’ sake, do not pass up the opportunity to hear from these seasoned writers!

Tickets for Open House Day are $10 and can be purchased at the door. What door, you ask? The door to Room 355 of the Portland State University Smith Memorial Student Union (located at 1825 Southwest Broadway in Portland). Open House runs from 10 am to 5 pm.

I am very excited for Write to Publish. But first, I need to go buy some supplies for my table. (There will be candy and science. Mars will make an appearance.) And you, readers, need to mark your calendars for a great weekend of publishing. Power to the writer!

Ooligan Press has a fab website

Check it out: my alma mater has taken its website to a new level! This morning I was delighted to see how the Ooligan Press site has developed. Visit http://ooligan.pdx.edu. One of my favorite aspects of the site is the blog page: it helps me feel connected with the press, publishing, and people. Also, I see that Ooligan’s Write to Publish conference has made its debut.

A Classroom Classic Returns

“Suddenly they found ways to participate in the world of books because the natural division of labor in the complete publishing process requires so many disparate talents and skills.” (page xi)

Publishing has me hooked. As you can tell from the extent to which I link to my alma mater (Ooligan Press), I loved studying every aspect of the industry: editing, management, design, marketing. One of the glories of publishing is its all-embracing nature: I am convinced that, in the field of publishing, there is something for everyone. You’re a mathematician? Sweet. You could be an editor of math textbooks. You’re keen on accounting? Immerse yourself in the business of publishing. You love event planning? Guess what? Authors and publishers would love for you to plan their book launches!

Publishing classes enriched my life—but I am not the first, nor will I be the last. For years, teachers across the country have brought the principles and practices of publishing into their classrooms to teach students reading, writing, design, and business skills. In 1992, one book presented an introduction to publishing curriculum and honored students and teachers who published a rich variety of works. Classroom Publishing: A Practical Guide for Teachers, by Laurie King and Dennis Stovall, proved itself as a useful and inspiring textbook. It successfully combined case studies from schools, publishing theory, contemporary publishing practice, and a list of resources. Chapter titles included “The Excitement of Contests,” “Anthologies by Correctional Facilities Students,” “Manuscript Selection & Preparation,” and “Copyright.”

When I was a student in the Portland State University Master’s in Writing: Book Publishing program, Classroom Publishing was frequently mentioned. (Dennis Stovall is now the coordinator of publishing curriculum at PSU.) We talked about creating a new edition of the book. A group of students gathered to that purpose. They began researching, then writing. I knew some of these students quite well and was proud to see how quickly and how well they were progressing.

In March 2010, the second edition of Classroom Publishing: A Practical Guide for Teachers will be a reality. Every aspect of this new edition was made possible by students in the publishing program: they found and interviewed teachers for case studies; created the structure and wrote the manuscript; edited, designed, produced, and now publicize the book. In anticipation of the book’s publication, the authors have begun a blog. Please visit http://www.ooliganpress.pdx.edu/cp and begin the adventure. There are stories from the classroom, descriptions of careers in publishing, and notices of events and contests. And more. If you are an educator, a parent, a mentor, or anyone looking for a new approach to teaching and discovering publishing, I highly recommend this site. And I can’t wait to see the book.

. . .
King, Laurie and Stovall, Dennis. (1992) Classroom Publishing: A Practical Guide to Enhancing Student Literacy. Blue Heron Publishing, Hillsboro, OR.

Ooligan Press. (2010) Classroom Publishing: A Practical Guide for Teachers, 2nd edition. Ooligan Press, Portland, OR.

Follow-Up on the Ooligan Press Open Book Launch

Last Thursday, I posted about Open Book, the line of sustainably published books from Ooligan Press. The Open Book party was informative and enjoyable. In addition to speakers from Ooligan, representatives from Pinball Publishing and Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability came and spoke about the importance of environmentally considerate printing, commerce, government, and public services. I was glad to learn about Pinball Publishing, a small business that makes an impact in sustainable design and production. Likewise, I had known little about the city’s work to keep Portland green, so I appreciated hearing more. Thanks to everyone who planned and attended the party: you did a great job.

For more information, here are some starting points.
City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS)
http://www.portlandonline.com/bps
CoinOp, Pinball Publishing’s Graphic Culture Catalog
http://www.pinballpublishing.com/coinop
Rethinking Paper & Ink, the sustainably published book from Ooligan Press

Opening up to Sustainable Printing

As I was writing my previous post about silhouette art, I had in mind another fine example in the form of the Open Book logo from Ooligan Press. In a very simple yet expressive way, the artist evokes the Northwest landscape: forest and mountain. This is quite like the silhouette work I saw in Shen of the Sea.

And it’s a good time to talk about the Open Book series. Ooligan Press, the student-run publishing house supported by the Masters in Writing at Portland State University, has embarked on a mission to print environmentally friendly books. This is no small task: it demands the careful choice of paper, ink, printing process—even the glue used to bind a book. Printing sustainably is also no inexpensive task: it costs money to make the right choices, which is why Ooligan and all publishers who choose environmentally healthy means of publishing need our financial support.

I use the term sustainable. What does this term mean when applied to printing and publishing? Common printing practices involve deforestation, pollution, and waste of energy and of material resources. Sustainable printing chooses alternatives that reduce the harmful effects involved in creating books. If you would like to learn more, I have a book to recommend.

Rethinking Paper & Ink begins the Open Book series; it is Ooligan’s first sustainably published book. It provides an in-depth discussion of responsible publishing practices. The book includes a description of the publishing as it is now and as it could be, suggestions for ecologically friendly publishing, a guide to resources, and a glossary.

Best of all, Rethinking Paper & Ink is available electronically (and free!) at this web page. Click on the book’s title to download a pdf.

Ooligan Press is celebrating the launch of its Open Book series with a party tomorrow. (That’s Friday, September 4.) The launch is from noon to 2 pm in Portland State University’s Smith Memorial Student Union, second floor, rooms 296-298 (Thanks, Janine!). (Here is a link to some maps.) All are welcome, so come party sustainably with a group of dedicated, happy publishers.

. . .
Open Book logo used with permission from Ooligan Press.