The Perfect Travel Companion
Next time you’re on an adventure through the friendly skies, stop by an airport bookseller. They may not have the title you’ve been searching for, but they’ll somehow have exactly what you need.
Manager Monday: Digital Accessibility at Ooligan
Creating accessible content means that a person with a disability can absorb the same information, engage with your content, and enjoy the same services as someone without a disability effectively and efficiently. At Ooligan Press, we’re committed to learning more about how to make our content, including our e-books, as accessible as possible.
Three Horror Novels by Latina Writers for Spooky Season
Drawing from folklore, oral tradition, and real-life horrors, contemporary Latina writers like Enríquez are transforming the genre, offering powerful commentary on colonialism, capitalism, gender violence, autonomy, power, and more. If you’re a fan of horror, you’ll want to add these books to your reading list.
The Libby App: Good for your Reading Slump, Good for your Wallet
There are three problems shared by almost every reader: wanting to read more; wanting our friends to read books we love; and being a little concerned with how much we spend at bookstores. Libby, a library reader app powered by OverDrive, answers all of them.
The Rise of Sapphic Fantasy
In a genre that has predominantly featured stories by men about men, the rise of sapphic fantasy in the mainstream is long overdue. Readers are demanding more women with swords falling into adventure (and love) with other women. This fresh subgenre expands fantasy with new voices and stories, but it also empowers and validates the LGBTQIA2S+ readers who have been a fan of the fantasy genre for years.
You’ve Got Mail! Inside the Marketing & Publicity Inbox
A majority of my position is digital collaboration: reviewing Marketing or Publicity documents for project teams, corresponding with Project Managers, or reaching outside Ooligan for various extracurricular publishing activities. Marketing and Publicity are actually two distinct departments at Ooligan Press. The role of Marketing and Publicity Manager is unique because it is one of the few positions that is currently combined; while the responsibilities vary, the skillset is similar.
Guess the Book Based on the Hook
An effective hook gives readers a taste of what the book is about and why they should read this particular book, as compared to any other book on the shelf. An effective hook might shock a reader or get them to ask questions, leaving them wanting more.
Manager Monday: The Role of Copy Chief
Ooligan Press is a student-run trade press that operates in conjunction with the book publishing master’s program at Portland State University. Those of us inclined to bite off a bit more work operate as project managers (those who manage the publication of a book project) and department managers (those who run the various departments within the press). As copy chief it is my responsibility to oversee and edit all the copy that goes through the press.
The Enigmatic Role of Literary Scouting in the Publishing Industry
When it comes to publishing, there’s quite a bit that goes on behind the scenes, unseen even by other people in the industry. Literary (or book) scouting is a very specific niche of the industry that often gets overlooked—even as a publishing student, it wasn’t until I got a job with a scouting agency that I fully started to understand what the job actually entails. Over the past few months, I’ve gotten an inside look into the world of scouting and the impact that scouts have on an international level. So, in the spirit of more transparency in the industry, here’s a quick run-down on scouting.
The Marketing Plan: Setting Your Book Up for Success
Marketing plans are a foundational document that make sure the entire process of publishing a book is cohesive, intentional, and appropriate to the audience and the goals of the book. The marketing plan is referenced in almost every other stage of the publishing process, so we have to be careful and put a lot of thought into the decisions we make because mistakes could cascade throughout the process and cause problems later.