Aspire to literary success?

Portland State’s Center of Excellence in Writing plans to offer more publishing courses over the following years as part of the effort to create a publishing company at PSU.

Dennis Stovall, director of the publishing program, wants to clarify that the university will not be equipped with publishing equipment. It will be a publishing company which will offer students and the general public an opportunity to learn the basics of publishing a book.

More elective courses, like book publishing, will eventually come into place as a curriculum within the program.

Stovall will teach two publishing classes this summer. Both classes are upper-division but the CRN and time has not been assigned yet.

Stovall said this information will be available later this week.

The first class is “Publishing Demystified: Nurturing the Dreams.” This class is open to writers, teachers, booksellers, librarians, readers, new publishers and those interested in book publishing. The eight-week class will focus on how books are discovered, developed, contracted, financed, edited, designed, produced, marketed and sold in the marketplace.

“[The class] will give you an insider’s perspective and the basic tools to pursue your own literary dreams with confidence,” Stovall said.

The class will combine lecture and discussions to examine the world of publishing.

“Small Press Development 1” is a seminar offered this summer. The seminar will look at the world of publishing fields, including research and developing strategies for a small press operation, exploring the available technologies and general events in the publication field.

More elective courses like these will be offered in the upcoming terms. The development of these courses is the first step in achieving the plan to establish a publishing company at Portland State.

The second step will be courses devoted to a particular project, which might involve independent study.

It’s too soon to tell if the press program will take place, but Stovall said he’s working on implementing the idea. The program will be self-funded.

“It will be a unique publishing program,” Stovall said. It is more of an outreach to the community, which is what PSU is all about, Stovall said.

If the program is to take place, the department will offer seminars and development program to the public as well to students.

To register for the two summer courses or for more information, contact Dennis Stovall at [email protected].