What are the departments of Ooligan Press and what are their functions?
Where are Ooligan books printed?
How does an idea pitched to Ooligan become a book? What is the process?
How does Ooligan find books to publish?
How long has Ooligan Press been around?
How can I get involved with Ooligan Press?
What authors have been published through Ooligan Press?
Does Ooligan Press make a profit?
Does Ooligan publish actual books?
What kinds of books do you publish?
Are students paid for working at the press?
How many books does Ooligan publish each year?
Do I have to have a bachelor’s degree in English or writing to be accepted into the program?
Does Ooligan ever publish work that its students have written?
How does Ooligan help its graduates find jobs?
How many students have graduated from the program?
Where does the name Ooligan Press come from?
How do I contact a specific department of Ooligan Press?
From authors:
From prospective students:
I am interested in receiving information about the program. Would you mail me your catalog?
What exams are required for admission to the program? Do I have to take the GRE?
What should I include in my writing samples in my application to the program?
I am interested in talking to someone about the program. Whom should I contact? I’m interested in visiting the press. Whom should I contact?
From current students:
Ooligan Press is a non-profit, general trade press located in the Pacific Northwest and dedicated to advancing the craft of publishing. Ooligan’s staff consists of educators, publishing professionals, and students within the graduate publishing program at Portland State University. We are a press committed to providing education, publishing sustainably, and producing quality books that represent the unique landscapes, communities, and people of the Pacific Northwest.
What are the departments of Ooligan Press and what are their functions?
Acquisitions: The Acquisitions department discovers and initiates writing projects that are relevant to our press and our diverse community. They aim to acquire works that are socially and regionally significant to readers in the Pacific Northwest and instructional to the students of Ooligan Press’ master’s program. They are committed to operating as sustainably as possible, while consistently producing high-quality work and maintaining professionalism.
Design & Sustainable Production: The Design & Sustainable Production department represents Ooligan Press through clear, thoughtful design and a commitment to incorporating sustainable publishing practices.
Digital Content: The Digital Content department focuses on implementing new technologies into the publishing workflow. They work in recently developed formats, such as ebooks and online publishing. They also oversee the Ooligan website and consult with other departments to develop content for marketing the press through digital formats.
Editing: The Editing department polishes any and all text distributed by Ooligan Press. It is their job to revise, rework, or rewrite all documents—from marketing copy to complete manuscripts—in an effort to ensure precision, clarity, and a professional standard of quality. They work closely with authors, professors, and each of the departments within Ooligan Press in order to guarantee that publications flow consistently from the press to the intended audience.
External Promotions: The External Promotions department works to engage the community and potential students through outreach. They organize events and coordinate Ooligan to attend public and trade conferences like Wordstock, PubWest, and other local literary events. External Promotions establishes Ooligan as a presence within the community and promotes the press and the publishing program. Every year, External Promotions organizes and manages Ooligan’s annual writing conference, Write to Publish. This conference demystifies the world of publishing for writers. If you would like more information, please refer to the Write to Publish website.
Marketing: The Marketing department aims to create vibrant and engaging materials to support the promotion and sales of our books. They are the interface between Ooligan titles and the public.
Where are Ooligan books printed?
Ooligan goes through a bidding process for each of our titles. We choose printers based on their quality, price, and willingness to work with us. This also means that they meet our standards for sustainable practices when printing our OpenBook Series.
How does an idea pitched to Ooligan become a book? What is the process?
All manuscripts and proposals are read and reviewed by the Acquisitions department. To ensure a strong and informed decision regarding the possible acquisition of the work, each submission is read by multiple readers. A submission will never be read outside of the department without the permission of the author. Additionally, all potential books are voted on during the executive meeting before we commit to working on a project. Once a decision is reached, the author is informed in a timely manner. We respond to query letters within four weeks after submission and to proposal and manuscript submissions within three months. Submission of both proposals and manuscripts implies consent to the above practices.
Ooligan Press is not owned in the traditional sense. Ooligan Press is a non-profit organization that operates at Portland State University; however, it is not a traditional university press or a venue for PSU-only publications. It is part of the Book Publishing graduate program in the Department of English.
Ooligan publishes books by a variety of writers who are interested in a press that reflects the values and attitudes that inspire so many to call the Pacific Northwest their home. We accept both solicited and unsolicited submissions and also develop in-house projects.
Ooligan Press was founded in 2001 as a teaching press dedicated to the art and craft of publishing.
You can be involved with Ooligan Press by being a registered graduate student of the publishing program or by contacting ooligan@ooliganpress.pdx.edu. Undergraduates and graduate students in other programs are welcome at Ooligan Press.
Ooligan has published works by Robin Cody, Charles Heying, Michael Munk, and many others. We also publish in-house projects, such as Rethinking Paper & Ink: The Sustainable Publishing Revolution and Classroom Publishing. To find out about all of our titles, please refer to the Books Page on Ooligan Press’ website.
Does Ooligan Press make a profit?
Ooligan is a non-profit trade press. All of our income goes into publishing our books, marketing, and related projects.
Yes. Ooligan is a trade press. Our books generally have a print run of one to two thousand and can be found in your local bookstores. The form of the book depends upon its needs. We work in both traditional forms and new media.
Ooligan publishes literary fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young adult fiction. Please refer to our Subsmission Guidelines if you have further questions.
Students are not paid to work for Ooligan Press. Working for the press is a requirement of the graduate program. Students get credit hours for their work. For members of the program, there are paid opportunities available through the Department of English.
Ooligan Press cannot offer advances on our titles; however, we do pay royalties to our authors.
Ooligan Press publishes three to six titles a year.
Who teaches the students how to be book publishers and what kind of publishing background do they have?
All of the instructors have experienced backgrounds in the publishing industry. Our Instructors page features a full list of instructors who work with Ooligan Press and the publishing program.
You do not need a degree in English or writing to get accepted in the program. Any bachelor’s degree will meet the requirements for inclusion in the program. We welcome and encourage applicants from all disciplines.
Ooligan will publish work that its students and staff have written. However, manuscripts from students and staff must go through the same process as other submissions.
Dennis Stovall, the founder of Ooligan Press, explains: “We do several things to help people find jobs. Most importantly, we make sure that you leave with a broad set of interrelated skills that will play well almost anywhere (including publishing). Steadily, we receive inquiries from companies interested in interviewing potential employees; these we pass along—sometimes to everyone and sometimes to just those students with matching skills. We do a job search session at least once each year. We’ve hosted sessions on finding niches, composing CVs and resumes, freelance writing and publishing, and many others. Long-term, we are available to write letters of reference and to help evaluate opportunities. Graduates of Ooligan Press and the publishing program have found positions at numerous magazines, publishing houses, and schools.” See our website’s Graduates page for a full list.
By the 2011 winter term, over 200 students had received their master’s degrees from the publishing program since 2001.
The name Ooligan is adopted from a Chinookan word for a smelt fish, otherwise known as the candlefish. The ooligan was an abundant natural resource in the rivers of the Pacific Northwest. It may well be the word from which the name “Oregon” was derived. During the trade of the valuable fish oil to tribes east of the Rockies, the L in Ooligan was replaced with an R, creating a word that sounded like Ooregon. One theory suggests that this usage became the name of an area of land and assumed its current spelling of Oregon over the course of history.
How do I contact a specific department of Ooligan Press?
Please see our contact page to find out how to get in touch with the appropriate party for your inquiry.
I am interested in ordering your books for myself or my business. Whom should I contact? What sort of discounts does Ooligan Press offer on its books?
Ooligan Press students, alumni, and faculty receive a 50% discount on our books.
For personal order, library orders (except for the Multnomah County Library system), retail orders (but only if you are not solely a bookstore), and educational orders, you can acquire books directly through us. Our discount schedules are as follows:
| Educational Discount | Nonprofit Organization Discount | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Books may not be resold | Books may neither be resold nor used in the classroom | ||
| 10-24 books † | 20% discount | 10-24 books | 30% discount |
| 25-49 books | 22% discount | 25-49 books | 35% discount |
| 50-99 books | 24% discount | 50-99 books | 40% discount |
| 100-249 books | 25% discount | 100-249 books | 45% discount |
| 250+ books | 30% discount | 250+ books | 50% discount |
*Please contact us directly about the discount schedule for retail orders.
You can place an order directly with Ooligan Press by emailing operations@ooliganpress.pdx.edu or calling 503-725-9748. We can ship the books to you, or you can come to the office to pick them up. Please allow extra time for large orders.
For large orders(if you would prefer to deal with our distributor) or retail orders(if you are a bookstore), please contact Ingram Publisher Services (IPS) at 800-452-3032. (The phone number will send you to the representative of our distributor Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company (GACPC) with IPS. Their discount schedules vary depending on the order.
† If you are an educational institution and order 20 books or more for your class, you will receive a free desk copy.
I am interested in notifying Ooligan Press and its staff and students of an event in the community. How should I do so?
Generally, we do not advertise events to our email lists unless we know the person or organization soliciting us. Please do not send us unsolicited announcements. If you do know us, then simply send the following information about the event to the Operations staff, who will forward it to the Ooligan graduate email list:
- The name
- The location
- A brief description
- The date(s) and time(s) of day
I want to collaborate with motivated Ooligan students on a personal project. How can I get in touch with them?
If you are looking for a student to help you write, edit, design, or market your project, please note that we do not currently solicit unpaid work from our students. If you have an offer of employment, we will be glad to share it with them. Below is the information we ask from organizations seeking student workers. So that we have a clear picture of what you are looking for and can provide you with the materials you need to hire the best candidate, please follow these guidelines.
Submission Guidelines for Collaboration Requests
Please include:
- A description of your organization (or yourself)
- A description of the position
- The desired qualifications
- The duration of the collaboration
- The amount of compensation
- The materials to be sent to you (i.e., is there an application, or should they just send a resume and cover letter)
- Your contact information including phone number, email address, and/or mailing address
If you send this information to our Sales and Operations team at ooligan@ooliganpress.pdx.edu, we will forward it to the Ooligan student mailing list.
My organization has an upcoming internship that I think would be appropriate for Ooligan students. How should I notify Ooligan?
Below is the information we ask from organizations seeking interns. To qualify as an internship, the work should provide a clear learning experience that involves more than just menial work. We would like to have a clear picture of what you are looking for so that we can provide you with the materials you need to hire the best candidate for the job and so that we can decide if the internship is worth our students’ time.
Submission Guidelines for Internship Requests
Please include:
- A description of your organization
- A description of the position
- The desired qualifications
- The duration of the internship
- The compensation, if relevant (i.e., a certificate of completion or a stipend)
- The materials to be sent to you (i.e., is there an application, or should they just send a resume and cover letter)
- Your contact information, including phone number, email address, and/or mailing address
Send the above information to our Sales and Operations team at ooligan@ooliganpress.pdx.edu, and we will publicize it to the Ooligan student mailing list.
I would like to apply for a job with or offer my professional services to Ooligan Press. Whom should I contact?
The only positions available are teaching positions in the English Department’s Book Publishing program, and those are currently filled. All of the publishing work is done by students in the program, which allows students to accrue knowledge and practical training in publishing in addition to their course work. If you are interested in teaching with Ooligan in the future, feel free to submit your curriculum vitae to the Operations staff (operations@ooliganpress.pdx.edu), who will keep it on file until we have an opening. Otherwise, please do not solicit us with offers of your services, as our students are our workers.
From authors:
I haven’t yet received a response to my query letter, manuscript, or book proposal. Whom should I contact to be sure it was received?
It is likely that your query letter, manuscript, or book proposal was received; but due to the volume we get on an ongoing basis, it can take us some time to send out responses. On our submissions page, under “Our Acquisition Process”, you will find how long it normally takes us to respond. If we have not responded within that time frame, however, please contact the acquisitions staff to check that they received your materials.
If you know that your materials have been received and are simply eager to know our response, please be patient! While we understand your enthusiasm, repeatedly contacting us will not speed up the process or make it any more likely that we will publish your book.
Another press has picked up my book while I was waiting for a response from your Acquisitions staff. Whom should I notify of this?
Please contact our Acquisitions staff promptly at acquisitions@ooliganpress.pdx.edu. We appreciate your conscientiousness in notifying us.
I’ve seen your submission guidelines posted elsewhere (such as on Writer’s Marketplace), but they are different than those on your website. Which should I follow?
When in doubt, the submission guidelines on our website are always the most up-to-date. If you have found incorrect submission guidelines elsewhere, please send the source and the details of the listing to ooligan@ooliganpress.pdx.edu. We are not always able to correct such postings, but we do our best to make sure we are accurately represented online. Thank you for double-checking.
From prospective students:
I am interested in receiving information about the program. Would you mail me your catalog?
We currently use electronic communication to convey program information in our effort to save paper. Much of the program information, including admission requirements, can be found on the English Department website, or the Ooligan Press website (hover over “The Publishing Program,” and select an item in the drop-down menu to read details about the program). To go directly to the application requirements, visit http://www.english.pdx.edu/GradWriting2.php. If you would like us to send our electronic packet in addition, simply email your request to the Operations staff at ooligan@ooliganpress.pdx.edu. Most of the information, however, matches what we have on the website.
What exams are required for admission to the program? Do I have to take the GRE?
There are no exams required prior to admission (including the GRE). Please visit PSU’s English Department website for full details on admission.
What should I include in my writing samples in my application to the program?
As on the PSU’s English Department website, we would like 15 to 30 pages of written work demonstrating promise of success in the publishing industry. This can include any type of writing within any genre—including poetry, nonfiction, or fiction—or research and scholarly writing, as in term papers. If, like some of our students, you work in bookselling or a publishing-related field, you can use work samples; any of the above are acceptable, if they exhibit your awareness of strong form and clear content.
I am interested in talking to someone about the program. Whom should I contact?
The first point of contact should always be the Operations staff. You can contact them at ooligan@ooliganpress.pdx.edu. They can put you in touch with current students or other appropriate parties who will answer your questions. Feel free to specify whom you would like to talk to, and we will do our best put you in touch with that person. If they are not readily available, we will find someone else who can answer your inquiries.
I’m interested in visiting the press. Whom should I contact?
The office staff would be happy to speak to you about the program and the press during Ooligan’s office hours, which vary from term to term. Please contact the staff at ooligan@ooliganpress.pdx.edu to inquire about the current hours. To schedule a meeting with one of the staff outside of designated office hours, or to get in touch with a current student, please e-mail a range of times that would work for you to ooligan@ooliganpress.pdx.edu, and the office staff will arrange something for you. The staff can also give you general information about the program. If you are interested in a formal campus tour, visit http://www.pdx.edu/admissions/campus_tours.html to schedule a formal tour of the university. The Ooligan office is located in Neuberger Hall, room 369, on the Portland State University campus.
From current students:
I am interested in registering for an Ooligan course, but Banweb won’t let me do so online. How do I register?
In order to prevent courses from filling up with undergraduates and locking out our graduate students, we require all our students to use the goldenrod-colored Special Registration forms (otherwise known as Add/Drop forms). You can sometimes get one that already has a signed override from Dennis Stovall in the Ooligan office, Neuberger Hall, room 369. Otherwise, you can get an unsigned one outside of the Registrations Office on the first floor of Neuberger Hall and have it signed by Dennis or the instructor of the course before turning it in to Registration. How do I schedule my graduate oral exam? First, select two of the three members who will comprise the portfolio review committee and who will administer the exam. Dennis Stovall is the one person you must have on your committee; for the other two, you can choose any PSU faculty member who has earned a master’s degree or higher (either ask the faculty member, or ask Dennis if he or she falls into that category). Next, talk with your committee and agree on a time during which you are all available. Then, be sure to check the Ooligan Press Google calendar to be sure that time isn’t already scheduled for an exam. If your agreed-on time slot is open, send an email to the Operations staff, and to Dennis, to reserve the Ooligan office for the date and time of your oral exam. You do not need to schedule your oral exam during or around open office hours. You can choose any time, as long as it doesn’t overlap with another student’s oral exam.