The Laurel Everywhere team members had their work cut out for them to compile and utilize Ooligan’s first-ever press kit. Our newly founded publicity department, led by the amazing Alex Gonzales, thankfully did the research for us and put a template together that we used to build the Laurel Everywhere press kit! A press kit is usually used by publishers as a prepackaged set of publicity materials that provides information about a book and is sent to members of the media for promotional use.

Ours includes a one-pager, which can be compared to a tipsheet or a fast-facts page, and a press release that has targeted and specific newsworthy copy to make it easy for a media reviewer or journalist to print it in their publication. Also included is a more in-depth about-the-book page, an about-the-author page, and an early reviews page which houses the blurbs we’ve received from distinguished authors as well as early reviews from Goodreads. On top of all that information, we also crafted discussion questions and an author Q&A formatted in AP style for a journalist to pull directly from our kit. To complete the kit, we included a simple page with information about Ooligan Press. In total, it’s about ten pages.

In the kit, we talk about Erin Moynihan’s debut YA fiction novel, Laurel Everywhere, and how it destigmatizes mental health with young readers by bringing taboo topics like death, grief, and suicidal ideation to light with a palatable narrative that encourages empathy and offers hope to readers.

“Laurel Everywhere is a deeply moving, startlingly real examination of trauma, tragedy, and the indefatigable strength of the human spirit when confronted with a world that won’t stop turning in the face of loss.” —Ava Morgyn, author of Resurrection Girls

With Laurel Everywhere, we have committed to showing young readers that grief and caring for your mental health aren’t things you have to go through alone. You can even find life and love after extreme loss. Current events have taken a toll on people everywhere, and this novel opens the door for conversations we all need to have with ourselves and our loved ones about loss and healthy coping mechanisms.

Our goal with the press kit is to garner media attention for Laurel Everywhere locally and nationally. We plan to send this kit out to a list of media outlets and journalists that we think would be interested in covering the release of this novel. We would also love to partner with mental health organizations and charities to help talk about the book, the heavy themes of grief, and how we can find hope in our real-world situations.

For more information on Laurel Everywhere, or if you would like to receive a press kit or interview Erin Moynihan, please contact Grace Hansen at grace.hansen@ooliganpress.pdx.edu.