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Press Profile: University of Alberta Press© Paula E. Kirman
The year 2000 has been a whirlwind for academic publishing house University of Alberta Press. Titles from the U of A Press garnered eight nominations at the Alberta Book Awards back in the spring, and won in two categories: Best Cover Design for Gabriel Dumont in Paris and Best Scholarly Book for The Literary History of Alberta.
Not just a publisher of strictly academic books, U of A Press recently re-published several of legendary Prairie writer Robert Kroetsch's early novels. As well, titles like Boundaries and Threshold feature contemporary fiction writing.
Acting Director of U of A Press, Janine Andrews, took some time out from her busy schedule to answer questions about the hsitory, goals, and future of the company.
Janine: The Press was founded in 1969 to support local and national scholarly publishing. It was then, and remains today, a belief that a strong university has a strong university press. The first director of the Press was Leslie Gutteridge, who passed away earlier this year (2000). Paula: What is the philosophy of UAP? Janine: The mandate of the Press is to promote the dissemination of original thought and continuing research as a vital part of the University of Alberta and as a member of the international scholarly community. The Press publishes scholarly monographs, academic collections, and high-quality trade books. Our program is fairly broad, and it encompasses diverse yet complementary areas of scholarship and general interests. Paula: How do you go about choosing what manuscripts to publish? Janine: The first step is an in-house review. If the editorial group feels a manuscript is strong and suits our program, they will recommend it be sent to at least two peer reviewers. Peer reviewers are usually scholars (occasionally they are researchers or leaders in a specialized trade) who can comment knowledgeably on the manuscript's strengths and weaknesses. We ask each reviewer to complete a detailed 15-question report form. If the reports are favourable, the manuscript is presented to our Press Committee, which is a body of scholars that oversees our program. If the Committee adopts the manuscript for publication, the actual publishing cycle can begin. The publishing process, from first contact to finished book, normally takes twelve to fifteen months. Paula: What are your goals as a publishing company? Janine: To be one of Canada's leading university publishers. We plan to achieve that goal by publishing high-quality books that contribute to the cultural and intellectual development of Canadians and international readers. We also seek to market, advertise and distribute our publications widely to a
The copyright of the article Press Profile: University of Alberta Press in Canadian Literature is owned by Darren Anderson. Permission to republish Press Profile: University of Alberta Press in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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