Welcome to our first newsletter!

This is the inaugural email newsletter for undergraduates currently registered for the Track in Literary Publishing. We'll use this medium to share events and opportunities for you!

RSVP now for The Ethics of Storytelling: Paige Towers' What They Stole

As writers, how do we tell stories that aren't our own? What roadblocks must we navigate, and how do editors/publishers help us along the way? Join UI Press, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, the International Writing Program, and the Office of Writing and Communication for a reading and discussion about these topics and more with author Paige Towers, Allison Means (associate director of UI Press), and Meenakshi Durham (writer, scholar, and faculty member at UI).

RSVP Here

Learn from Obermann's Editor-in-Residence, Oct. 5–7

The University of Iowa community is invited to meet the Obermann's Editor-in-Residence, Walter Biggins, Oct. 5–7 for

• an ask-me-anything session,
• a junior faculty and graduate student breakfast,
• an undergraduate career exploration session,
• a faculty book proposal workshop,
• and a public lecture.

All events will take place at the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies (111 Church St., Iowa City). See event details below.

Biggins is editor-in-chief at University of Pennsylvania Press, where he acquires titles in cultural studies, human rights, the intellectual and political history of the Americas, and Atlantic World and postcolonial studies. With Daniel Couch, he is the author of Bob Mould's Workbook (Bloomsbury, 2017). His work has been published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Feeding the Elephant: A Forum for Scholarly Communications; The Quarterly Conversation; RogerEbert.com; The Baseball Chronicle; and other periodicals.

Ask me anything (AMA)

Mon, Oct. 5 | 1–3 p.m.

Biggins will host two group discussions and answer attendees' questions about editing and publishing. The sessions are back-to-back; you may attend one or both.

RSVP by Sept. 30.

Undergraduate career session

Tue, Oct. 6 | noon–1 p.m.

Interested in a career in publishing? This is an opportunity for undergraduate students to hear directly from a distinguished professional about the realities of the field and how to prepare for an editorial career. Pizza will be provided!

Register by Sept. 30.

Public lecture

Tue, Oct. 6 | 3–4 p.m.

"AI Is Not Your Friend: Cautions and Vents about Its Uses and Abuses in the Creation of Scholarly Publications"

Biggins will offer his perspective—as both a longtime acquiring editor and a writer—on how the advent of AI affects the present and possible futures of scholarly publishing. In particular, he will discuss how the emerging technology creates concerns and unresolved tensions in publishing around intellectual property, peer review, the generation of text and art, as well as the value and reception of academic labor.

RSVP by Sept. 30.