Pacific University Press Debuts First Book in May

Pacific University will join an important university tradition by publishing its first book through the Pacific University Press in May 2016.

When the Rewards Can Be So Great: Essays on Writing and the Writing Life, edited by Kwame Dawes, is a collection of essays from Dawes’ fellow faculty in the Pacific University Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program.

The Pacific University Press was founded in 2015 as a service of the Pacific University Libraries. The Press continues Pacific’s mission of scholarship and discovery by creating opportunities for scholars with diverse viewpoints to share their work.

“We want to publish books that either contribute to scholarly discourse, to the advancement of professional practice, or to the role of literature in understanding the human condition,” said Associate Press Director Isaac Gilman.

In identifying and evaluating books for publication, the Press is guided by an editorial board that includes members of the Pacific community, as well as external members with years of publishing and expertise at universities, commercial publishers, and newspapers.

The Press will publish under three imprints: Pacific University Press, Tualatin Books, and 1849 Editions. These imprints focus on areas of academic strength for Pacific, particularly the liberal arts and sciences, healthcare, business, education, and creative writing.

Most Press publications will use an open-access model, in which digital editions of books are free upon publication. This distinguishes the Pacific University Press from other presses in the Northwest, making it possible for Pacific to publish works that may have limited sales potential but could be of great intellectual significance.

Works from the literary imprint, 1849 Edition — which includes the first book, publishing in the spring — are not open-access, however, unless the author selects that model.

When the Rewards Can Be So Great will be available in paperback through online booksellers in May.