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Portland State Launches Book Imprint and Degree
"Ooligan Press" to serve as laboratory for careers in book publishing
This fall Portland State University Center for Excellence in Writing opens a new chapter in its curriculum with a unique concentration of courses in book publishing and a new publishing imprint, "Ooligan Press."The courses in publishing are open to undergraduate and graduate students, and can lead to a master's degree in writing with a concentration in publishing. The program is run by Dennis Stovall, former owner and publisher of Blue Heron Publishing. Classes explore the gamut of issues surrounding the book publishing industry, such as its history, book acquisitions, editing, marketing, financial and legal issues, book design and production, and ethical issues facing today's publisher. Many classes are offered evenings and are taught by working professionals and academic faculty.
Ooligan Press is a general trade press at Portland State University that will honor the cultural and natural diversity of the Pacific Northwest through the books it publishes. In addition, it is dedicated to teaching the art and craft of publishing, applying students and class work to the day-to-day management of a working press.
While several universities offer summer programs in publishing, most are geared toward funneling graduates into New York's publishing industry, and are restricted to graduate-level students. According to Stovall, the PSU program, open to both undergraduate and graduate students, is unique in its integration of a working small press into the curriculum and coursework.
Although there are an estimated 50,000 publishing presses in the United States, the vast majority of titles are published by the six largest publishing houses. "We want to put the understanding of the press - the power of the press - into people that can create culture," said Stovall. "There is this trend of reducing books to super-commodities, which is based on the continued monopolization of the publishing industry. We hope to use this program to install a philosophical piece back into the publishing process." "Ooligan" pays homage to the name given by Native American in the Pacific Northwest to the bountiful smelt found in the region's lakes and rivers. The fish was extremely high in an oil easily rendered and stored, and thus a prized trade commodity. The name may have also provided the derivation "Oregon." The press strives to render and refine the resources of our region, and trade them with the world beyond. Ooligan Press is open to book proposals from inside and outside the university. Special editorial interests include writing and the teaching of writing, editing, publishing, and book arts; new or rediscovered works with a social or literary impact and a Pacific Northwest connection; cookbooks with an unusual focus, particularly those done in a narrative style; and occasional volumes of poetry, special broadsides and works of art. Ooligan also serves as a publishing umbrella for other imprints with distinct editorial policies directed by individual academic departments or programs at Portland State, offering the school and general community a full range of publishing services, from consulting and planning, to design and production.
For more information on the publishing program and classes at Portland State, or on Ooligan Press, visit www.publishing.pdx.edu or call 503-725-9410. Classes for fall quarter begin September 30, 2002, and will include Introduction to Book Publishing, Publishing Inquiry I, Publishing Research, Book Editing, Book Production and Design, Book Marketing and Promotion, Children's Book Publishing, and Bookselling.