Fact and fiction, together at U-M Press

Updated 10:00 AM October 20, 2003

Fact and fiction, together at U-M Press

By Katie Gazella

Since 1930, the University of Michigan Press has published works on an array of scholarly topics such as philology, postmodernism and colonialism.

Now the publisher is offering a more varied selection. While it will continue its longstanding tradition of producing erudite works, U-M Press now is blending that emphasis with novels, short story collections and works that are based on scholarly research but are designed to appeal to a mainstream audience.

O'Connor (Photo by Linda Cullen). Below: dust cover image courtesy U-M Press.

"We're at the end of a transition period of publishing nearly all scholarly titles to publishing a balanced combination of scholarly and general audience titles," says Mary Erwin, assistant director of U-M Press.

A sign of the new focus is the Michigan Literary Fiction Awards, given out for the first time this year. The first honorees are Sheila O'Connor for her novel "Where No Gods Came" and Maura Stanton for her short story collection "Cities in the Sea," both published by U-M Press. A ceremony Oct. 16 included the formal presentation of the awards and readings of the authors' works.

Those entering their works must have published at least one work of literary fiction previously. Authors Charles Baxter and Nicholas Delbanco, professor of English and director of the master of fine arts program, judged the award competition.

O'Connor says it was an "affirmation" of her work for authors as esteemed as Baxter and Delbanco to recognize it. "It was wonderful news," says O'Connor, a writing instructor at Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minn. Her book also is on the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers list.

Stanton says she, too, is an admirer of the judges. "I think the book will get more attention because of that," says the professor of English/creative writing at Indiana University. "And I've been encouraged to write more short stories since winning the award."

The Press also is publishing new works of fiction about life in the Midwest, particularly the Great Lakes region, in its Sweetwater Fiction Originals series.

Prior to the new emphasis on fiction and other types of books, U-M Press went through many phases in its long history, Erwin says. At first, it was established for faculty and focused on esoteric topics, she says. In the late 1950s and 1960s, she says, the focus boadened and no longer was just on publishing works for U-M.

Stanton (Photo courtesy Maura Stanton) Below: dust cover image courtesy U-M Press.

In the 1970s and 80s, the Press moved toward books for a broader audience, including those that could be used in courses, she says. In the 1980s and 1990s, however, the emphasis remained on scholarly works.

The latest change began, Erwin says, when Philip Pochoda was hired as director of the Press in 2001. At the start of his tenure, he said he wanted greater heterogeneity among the books published by the Press.

"This is a timely opportunity for sorely needed new markets and readers," he said at the time. "A university press should speak to and for the same readers and constituencies that a major state university such as Michigan tries to serve."

There is an economic necessity as well as a public value in expanding the Press's offerings, Pochoda says. Declining library sales and federal grants have caused university presses to look for books that may achieve some financial success, he says.

The books on the Press's spring list include titles dealing with social issues, American culture, gardening and more. One of the releases will be a photo book of Ann Arbor. "It's fun to work on these books," Erwin says. "We can be a lot more creative with the design."

Erwin says that even as the Press looks at new types of books, the academic list still is an important part of the 160 or so titles published each year. "The quality remains high," she says.

Fact and fiction, together at U-M Press

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