Portland State Magazine Fall 2015

FALL 2015 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE 19 NESTLED in a small workroom at the heart of campus, students in the graduate program in book publishing are churning out novels, memoirs, anthologies and more through the country’s only student-run publishing house. Ooligan Press, founded in 2001 in the English Department to offer real-world experience to students pursuing a master’s of writing in publishing, has produced more than 30 books and continues to gain prominence as a regional independent press. Ooligan’s early books explore myriad topics and genres, such as time travel science fiction and Croatian poetry in translation, but a shift in its mission in 2010 led the press to focus on titles exploring the places, people and cultures of the Pacific Northwest. “We started looking at what books were doing well in terms of sales and in terms of what we were good at editing, designing and marketing,” says Ooligan Press publisher Abbey Gaterud. “And we found that those things all were regional titles.” Though it took awhile for Ooligan to gain a foothold in Portland’s busy publishing market, Gaterud says many of the books acquired during that time of transition have contributed to its success as a regional press—and with every new book things are getting better. Ooligan books have been popular with regional booksellers for years, often making the “recommended” walls at Powell’s City of Books, and recent titles are now finding a broader reach. “The Pacific Northwest booksellers are a fan of the books,” says Gary Lothian, a sales representative who handles Ooligan titles for book distributor Ingram Publisher Services. WR I T T E N B Y B E S S PAL LAR E S Behind the covers is a unique, student-run publishing house Learning by the book Untangling The Knot: This collection of personal essays by 26 authors discusses societal and cultural issues directly related to queer communities, particularly topics largely ignored in the mainstream discourse about marriage equality, such as definitions of family or even holding hands in Wyoming. Released in February 2015. A Series of Small Maneuvers: Making it out of the wilderness is just the beginning for 15-year-old Emma, who must confront her guilt and grief after inadvertently causing an accident that kills her father during a canoe trip that was meant to bring them closer. This young adult novel is scheduled for release in November.