We Belong in History: Writing with William Stafford is making great strides—we are so grateful to all of the students who submitted to the contest. We’ve notified all of our finalists that their work will be published, and we hope that all students who entered realize how wonderful their writing is!

Now that we have all of the poems in hand, our judging panel is arranging them into the order in which they will appear in print. Oregon Poet Laureate Paulann Petersen is putting the final touches on her introduction for the book, and then we’ll have the incredible privilege of adding her words to the mix.

While we won’t be going to press until September, it will be a busy summer for We Belong in History at Ooligan. Designers will execute the interior design of the book, Lorna Nakell will finish up her design for the cover, and the marketing department will ready all the materials to help launch the book into the world next January.

We couldn’t be more excited to enter into this planning phase within the press, as we continue to work with various community and arts organizations across the state to prepare for the yearlong centennial celebration of Stafford’s birthday.