Rachel Noorda, Director of Book Publishing
Rachel Noorda is Director of Book Publishing at Portland State University. She earned her PhD in Publishing Studies from the University of Stirling, Scotland, where she studied the international marketing of Scottish books to the Scottish diaspora. While working toward her PhD, she co-founded an educational children’s publishing house, ThunderStone Books. In addition to running a publishing company, Rachel has taught courses at the University of Stirling, Brigham Young University-Idaho, and the College of Southern Nevada. Rachel’s research interests include twenty-first century book culture, diaspora communities, Scottish publishing, small firm marketing, international marketing, and entrepreneurship.
Courses: Introduction to Book Publishing, Book Publishing for Writers, Book Editing, Book Marketing, Researching Book Publishing
Abbey Gaterud
After Abbey graduated in 2007 with her Master’s degree in Writing with a specialization in Book Publishing, she returned to Portland State University’s graduate program in Book Publishing, becoming indispensable to students as a mentor, ally, and the high guru of production schedules. Abbey is the Publisher of Ooligan Press and oversees its operations, in addition to teaching courses in design. She also served as Interim Director of Publishing for the 2017–18 academic year. In 2015, Publishers Weekly named her a Star Watch Honoree. She recently launched Blueroad Press with her father.
Courses: Introduction to Book Publishing, Book Design Software, Publishing Studio and Publishing Lab, Book Publishing for Writers, Advanced InDesign, and Typography, Layout, and Production
Kathi Inman Berens
Kathi Inman Berens, Assistant Professor of Digital Humanities and Publishing in Portland State University’s Department of English, advises and teaches classes in PSU’s graduate program in Book Publishing. In 2014–15, she was the Fulbright Scholar of Digital Culture at the University in Bergen, Norway. She makes, curates, and researches electronic literature. Shows she curated at the Library of Congress and elsewhere have been reviewed in The Huffington Post and academic journals. Expertise in transmedia storytelling and branding grew out of her work at the University of Southern California (USC), where she taught at the Annenberg School of Communication and was a research fellow at Annenberg’s Innovation Lab. She taught writing for nine years in USC’s Writing Program. She has published with Bloomsbury Press and in Literary and Linguistic Computing, Hyperrhiz, Hybrid Pedagogy, L.A. Review of Books, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and other venues.
Courses: Concepts in Digital Publishing, Transmedia Marketing for Publishers, Digital Skills, Digital Genres, and Book Publishing for Writers
Pariah Burke
Pariah Burke (http://iampariah.com) is a digital publishing and graphic design consultant, trainer, author, and speaker whose passion is Inspiring, Informing, and Empowering Creative Professionals™. Pariah literally wrote the book (and the curriculum used by colleges, universities, and trainers the world over) on digital publishing with InDesign, ePublishing with InDesign. He also wrote the first book for experienced InDesign users, Mastering InDesign for Print Design and Production, as well as other books, more than 25 video training courses, and more than 450 published tutorials and articles on the topics of InDesign, InCopy, Acrobat, Photoshop, Illustrator, typography, elearning, epublishing, iPad DPS publishing, creative and office efficiency, the business of design, and going freelance. Pariah travels everywhere from his home base in Portland, Oregon, and you can always find him sharing with, and helping, the creative pro community on Twitter @iampariah.
Course: Ebook Design
Jessie Carver
Jessie Carver is an editor and writer who received her Master’s degree in Writing (with an emphasis in editing and book publishing) from Portland State University in 2011. She co-authored the book Rethinking Paper & Ink: The Sustainable Publishing Revolution, works as the managing editor/writer at a language interpreting company, and has edited numerous books, magazines, and projects including Bitch magazine, The End of My Career by Martha Grover (finalist for the 2016 Oregon Books Awards); and Life Begins at Incorporation by Pulitzer Prize Finalist Matt Bors. When she’s not editing and writing for other people, Jessie is busy writing her own short fiction (which has been published on Entropy and Watershed Review) and teaching writing at PSU.
Course: Copyediting
Michael Clark
Michael Clark is Associate Professor of English and the Coordinator for the Minor in Film Studies at PSU, while also serving as Director of the Portland Center for Public Humanities. His background is in twentieth-century literature, philosophy, and literary theory. He received his doctorate in comparative literature from the State University of New York, Binghamton. Michael Clark is also a lawyer, holding a J.D. from the University of Oregon, and specializes in intellectual property law.
Course: Intellectual Property and Copyright
Robyn Crummer-Olson
Robyn Crummer-Olson has spent more than ten years as a marketer in freelance, agency, and client-side roles. She earned a BA in Communication and Women's Studies from Southwestern University. She graduated in 2011 from Portland State University with an MA in Writing with a specialization in Book Publishing. She has edited and marketed books about woodblock printing, Lady Gaga, IT, beer, and design thinking—just to name a few. She loves a book recommendation, so always tell her what you’re reading.
Courses: Book Marketing
Kelley R. Dodd
Kelley R. Dodd teaches Book Design Software. She is a print specialist and freelance designer, having worked in the print and publishing industries for more than twenty years. Kelley is the graphic designer for the bimonthly magazine The Solutions Journal: For a Sustainable and Desirable Future and is working on the second book in the Cycling Sojourner series, Cycling Sojourner: A Guide to the Best Multi-day Tours in Washington. Her experience in graphic arts includes logo design, branding, product packaging, document design, and illustration. She received a Bachelor's degree in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin and an Master's degree in Writing with a specialization in Book Publishing from Portland State University. During her graduate studies, Kelley designed various projects for Ooligan Press, including the interior and cover for Oregon at Work: 1859–2009, the covers for Classroom Publishing: A Practical Guide for Teachers, Killing George Washington: The American West in Five Voices, and Rethinking Paper and Ink: The Sustainable Publishing Revolution (1st edition) as well as the Open Book logo. Kelley has been interviewed on the Ooligan Press blog.
Course: Book Design Software
John Henley
John Henley is a well-known bookseller in the Pacific Northwest. As one of the earliest managers at Powell’s Bookstore, he developed the new books department in the late 1970s. He was also in charge of the rare books department. He has hand-sold books, sold books through catalogues, and sold books online. He has experience in small publishing ventures and is a published author of a novel and articles on bibliography. He was the manager for the Great Northwest Bookstore from 1990 to 2009. He taught the Bookselling course from 2001 to 2010 and has been with the graduate program in Book Publishing from its inception. He now teaches an intensive survey course, The Popular Book in the United States, designed to sharpen the skills of acquisitions editors. John has studied this subject since getting into the book business in the late 1960s. He is an Accredited Senior Appraiser of Books and Manuscripts in the American Society of Appraisers.
Course: The Popular Book in the United States
Tawny Johnson
Tawny Johnson’s long career in the world of publishing—reaching back to 1979—represents a diverse range of experience including advertising and marketing, administration and HR, bookstore management, publicity and international licensing. Tawny is currently a Senior Literary Agent for D. C. Jacobson and Associates and serves as Senior Proposal Development Consultant for both ECPA and AuthorTalk™. She frequently speaks around the country encouraging and informing writers about how to successfully navigate the intricacies of the book publishing industry. Tawny holds a bachelor’s degree in Theology with a minor in English Literature and a Master’s degree in Theological Studies with a concentration in Historical Theology. She is a native Portlander, loves travel and history, and never (and she really means never) stops counting the days when she and her husband return to their ultimate “happy place” — Nantucket Island.
Course: Introduction to Book Publishing
Nevin Mays
Nevin Mays has worked in publishing for more than fifteen years with publishers including Penguin Random House, Hachette, Scholastic, and Disney. She worked in-house as an acquiring editor and list manager as well as a developmental editor and copyeditor, before opening her independent editorial services business in Portland. She is also currently the baby bard at Green Bean Books and volunteers as a reading tutor and writing workshop facilitator throughout Portland.
Course: Children's Book Publishing
Anna Noak
Anna Noak has been a book publishing generalist and editor for the last eleven years, working in an assortment of genres published by varying sized houses, ranging from a small, startup YA press to a Body, Mind, Spirit imprint of Simon & Schuster. She has primarily worked in-house and has a broad background as an acquisition editor, list manager, production editor, project manager, and, most currently, as the editorial director of IT Revolution, a small press specializing in business books. Her freelance work has primarily been as a ghostwriter and book doctor. She has a Master of Arts in Writing from Portland State University with a concentration in Publishing. She lives and works in Portland, Oregon.
Courses: Audio Books, Developmental Editing, and Introduction to Publishing
Abby Ranger
Abby Ranger is a former senior editor at HarperCollins, and the founder of Abby Ranger Editorial, LLC, a publishing and editorial consulting company that focuses on middle grade and young adult fiction. Abby's more than 14 years of experience in book publishing include editorial posts at Disney-Hyperion and Scholastic. She has edited novels by New York Times bestselling authors Cinda Williams Chima, Amie Kaufman, Linda Sue Park, and Victoria Schwab, among others.
Course: Publishing for Young Adults
Kerry Sparks
Kerry Sparks has been at Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary for over a decade. In her time there she has built up the kid’s lit department and the agency wide digital initiative. A few of her clients include NYT and International Bestselling author Jennifer Niven, National Book Award Finalist Carrie Arcos, bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert, illustrator and author Mark Pett, novelist Camille Perri, and a robust list of Jennifers—Jenny Torres Sanchez, Jennifer Mathieu, Jenny Lundquist, Jennifer Mann, and Jennifer Gray Olson to name a few. She is looking for fiction that is the perfect combination of a great hook and solid writing, whether for adults or younger readers. Kerry grew up in rural Oregon town before heading to California for college. She graduated with honors from California State University, Los Angeles with a degree in English, where she also published short stories and wrote and produced plays. After a decade in Manhattan, Kerry now heads up the LGR Oregon outpost in Portland where she lives with her husband and two young daughters. Kerry is the co-author of the hipster baby name book Hello, My Name Is Pabst and will gladly help clients name their characters when necessary.
Course: Literary Agents and Acquisitions
Laura Stanfill
Laura Stanfill is a freelance editor, publishing consultant, and small-press publisher. In 2012, she founded Forest Avenue Press, which is now distributed by Publishers Group West. After receiving a bachelor’s degree from Vassar College and the Jane Dealy Wirsig Prize in Journalism, she embarked on a decade-long career as a community newspaper reporter and editor, netting regional and national awards. In 2018, Laura earned a certificate from the Yale Publishing Course, after winning a scholarship from the Independent Book Publishers Association. Publishers Weekly named her a Star Watch Honoree in 2017. Forest Avenue titles have received national accolades and achieved regional indie bookstore best-seller status. Laura regularly appears as a guest lecturer at colleges, universities, writing festivals, and workshops to demystify the industry and teach essential skills to authors and new publishers. Recent appearances include the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, the University of New Mexico, the Writers’ Workshoppe, Clackamas Community College, Washington State, Pacific University, and The Attic. As a volunteer, she mentors young writers, serves on a charter school board, and facilitates Create More, Fear Less, an anxiety-and-art project founded by Kathleen Lane to help middle-school students manage their worries. Laura is represented by Laurie Fox of the Linda Chester Literary Agency, and her creative work has appeared in or is forthcoming from The Rumpus, Longridge Review, Stonecoast Review, The Nasiona, Paragon Journal, Rosebud, and VoiceCatcher as well as the anthologies We Believe You, Christine (Wellstone Books) and The Untold Gaze (O’Donnell/Little).
Course: Book Editing
Erika Stevens
Erika Stevens runs Quick Bread Editorial, an independent freelance editing business, and works with Coffee House Press as their poetry editor-at-large. Erika previously worked with the University of Georgia Press as acquisitions editor for creative writing, scholarly, and trade books, and for the University Press of Florida as a senior acquisitions editor for Cuban and Latin American Studies.
Course: Book Editing
Dennis Stovall
Emeritus Faculty: Dennis Stovall founded the PSU publishing program in 2001. He has also worked as a publisher of Media Weavers and Blue Heron Publishing. Born in Portland and raised in The Dalles, Oregon, in 1968 he graduated from the University of Oregon Honors College in Political Science. His work as a sandhog, steelworker, teamster, heavy equipment operator, papermaker, and quality control engineer has informed his lifelong advocacy of labor, cultural, and social issues. He is the co-author of Classroom Publishing: A Practical Guide to Enhancing Student Literacy. He has served on the boards of the Pacific NW Writers Association, the Oregon Writers Colony, Northwest Association of Book Publishers, the Oregon Publishers Industry Alliance, as well as numerous other related organizations.
Kent Watson
Kent Watson teaches the Business of Book Publishing course and has more than twenty years of highly successful global experience in the trade, textbook, periodical, and distribution businesses. He began his career at the Tattered Cover Bookstore as the newsstand buyer. From there, he joined Ingram Periodicals as Field Sales Manager covering international and national key accounts. Kent then went on to join notable publishing houses Houghton Mifflin and Timber Press (now a division of Workman). Kent also propelled the launch of Academic Internet Publishers, Inc., a venture e-commerce start-up for the higher education market. Kent’s broad expertise in sales and marketing has driven the prosperity of the aforementioned organizations. His unique background covers all aspects of the book industry: publishing, wholesale, retail, libraries, and academic institutions. In 2006, Kent joined the Publishers Association of the West, which is the premier professional development association for independent publishers. In 2007, he spearheaded their membership drive, doubling their ad sales for the association directory. Kent is now the Executive Director of the renamed PubWest.
Course: The Business of Book Publishing