The Portland Book Festival, formerly known as Wordstock, is Oregon’s biggest literary event of the year, featuring panels, vendors, speakers, and lots and lots of books. Every November, the day-long event attracts authors and publishers from near and far, and last fall, Ooligan Press was proud to be included yet again. The festival drew its […]
Wordstock
Creative Book Marketing for Local Publishers
By Jenna Whitney @basuritx
Marketers in the publishing industry work hard to write compelling copy about presses, books, and contests for press releases, blog posts, and social media messaging in an effort to garner excitement. This summer I saw how a press can work with a community to generate buzz about their work.
Ooligan in the World
By Grace Evans @gracemalizia & Elizabeth Hughes @elizabig
From intimate readings to established conferences and book festivals, we’ve spent a lot of time over the past few months arranging opportunities for the world—at least our Pacific Northwest corner of it—to meet our books and their authors. There have been plenty of volunteer schedules to fill, promotional marketing and social media posts to plan, and boxes of books to cart to and fro. In return for that work, we’ve watched our authors delight and charm audiences while their books are admired, applauded, and carried away to new homes. So where in the world have we found Ooligan authors this fall?
The Social Media Footprint of Wordstock 2017
By Terence Brierly
Social media monitoring and outreach is an important part of the marketing machine here at Ooligan Press, and since we and a number of our authors were involved in Wordstock 2017, we did a quick analysis of Wordstock’s social media “footprint” via two platforms: Twitter and Instagram. This isn’t an exhaustive analysis, but having a cursory understanding of the conversation surrounding events like Wordstock can provide information for where the festival is at and how Ooligan Press fits into its narrative as a premier literary event.
Write Around Oregon: A Quick Overview of Writing Conferences within the State
By Lisa Hein @lisamhein
When thinking about a writing career, the first words that come to mind are usually not “conferences” or “networking.” While it’s a romantic notion to imagine authors holed up in cabins producing great works of literature all on their own, the truth is that the writing community is vibrant, collaborative, and surprisingly social. Writing conferences in particular have become an indispensable resource for anyone looking to stay connected to what’s current in the industry. Literary culture is constantly evolving, and conferences and other large-scale gatherings offer writers, publishing professionals, and other producers a chance to connect and learn from each other. Listed below are some of the great writing conferences around the state that Oregon authors should be sure to check out.
Wordstock 2015: Talking About Books
By Margaret Henry
On an early November morning, I awoke eager to divide my day working for Literary Arts in the morning and Ooligan Press in the afternoon. After a quiet MAX ride, I made my way to the lobby of the Portland Art Museum’s historic Mark Building, where I found two other Wordstock volunteers awaiting instructions. Wordstock […]