A Blog Tour in Honor of Mark Saunders
Mark Saunders, director of the University of Virginia Press, was a committed member of the University Press Week Task Force from its beginning in 2012. The tag line we used that first year—”Contributing to an informed society”—was Mark’s suggestion, and the idea remained at the heart of why Mark continued to invest his much-requested time in our annual celebration of the deep and enduring value of university presses. The Task Force was just beginning to plan for this fall’s University Press Week when we learned of Mark’s death. It is a year when we are again contemplating what it means to be “an informed society” and how the kinds of publishing we do—that Mark cared about so deeply and did so well—can contribute.
Mark’s loss is felt deeply both professionally and personally throughout the AUPresses community—there has been an outpouring of reflections on how Mark influenced so many of us through his advice, knowledge, humor, and concern for others. To honor the role that Mark played in our community, the University Press Week Task Force invited members of the Association to take part in a special blog tour during the week of our Annual Meeting, June 10-14. Presses are posting essays celebrating the people that they work with every day, the people who make UP publishing happen through their labor and their care.
Please follow these posts on social media, marked with the tags #WeAreUP and #ReadUP, and collected here—witness the spirit, intelligence, generosity, curiosity, and passion that turns the staff at publishing houses around the world into a community.
* Scott McLemee of Inside Higher Ed has written about the reflections and celebrations of #WeAreUP and memories of Mark in “Quiet Titan” (6/14/19).
Monday, June 10
Mark Saunders
The University of Virginia
A Tribute to Mark Saunders
An appreciation of the interns whose work answers Mark’s question: How do you manage it? by Fred Nachbaur
Fordham University Press
At a Crossroads with Mark Saunders
by Catherine Hobbs
Columbia University Press
Hiking Cascadilla Gorge with Ange
by Dean Smith
Cornell University Press
Celebrating Mark Saunders
Pioneer of University Press Digital Publishing by Charles Watkinson
University of Michigan Press
Tuesday, June 11
Reflections on Our Colleagues in Honor of Mark Saunders
University Press of Colorado/Utah State University Press
A Culture of Mentorship and Collaboration Among University Presses
An Interview with Lisa Hamm & Christian Winting by Chase Caldwell Smith
Columbia University Press
UP Hero Spotlight: David des Jardines
by Jon Davies
University of Georgia Press
“I’ll take film for $1000, Alex”
Celebrating Gary Kramer
Temple University Press
In Appreciation of Mentors
by Dennis Lloyd
University of Wisconsin Press
Wednesday, June 12
Mark Saunders would remind us: It’s all about the authors
by Steve Yates
University Press of Mississippi
Thank You, University of Illinois Press Staff, for Your Incredible Generosity as Mentors!
by Julie Laut
University of Illinois Press
A Remembrance of Mark Saunders: Mentor and Friend
by Melissanne Scheld
Columbia University Press
Celebrating UA Press: Past, Present, and Future
University of Arizona Press
Celebrating Gita Manaktala, Recipient of the AUPresses Constituency Award
by Larin McLaughlin
University of Washington Press
Thursday, June 13
People of SUP
Photo essay by Ge Wang
Stanford University Press
A Story Of Mentorship And Community Among People Behind The Databases And Metadata At University Presses
by Maritza I. Herrera-Diaz
Columbia University Press
Everybody Has to Start Somewhere
by Christine Thorsteinsson
Harvard University Press
Celebrating the People of Duke University Press
Duke University Press
Meet the Press
Temple University Press
A Facebook post from staff members Joseph B. Powell and Karen Smith remembering Mark Saunders and honoring past and present staff and interns
University of West Indies Press
A Facebook post from Richard Brown, remembering Mark Saunders and reflecting on the power of the AUPresses publishing community
University of South Carolina Press
Friday, June 14
Celebrating university presses and their staffs, hindsight is 20/20
by Bryan Shaffer
Purdue University Press
Celebrating Our Colleagues with Infinite Mile Awards
MIT Press
Celebrating the Staff of the CDC
by Carrie Adams
University of Chicago Press
A Day on the River with UPF Staff
University Press of Florida
Reflecting on Our History at Yale University Press
Yale University Press
Getting a UP Education
by Angela Baggetta
Harvard University Press
University Presses: Embodying the Community
University of California Press
#WeAreUP: A Mark Saunders-inspired salute to sales reps
by Christie Henry
Princeton University Press