The University of Arizona Press puts out close to 60 titles a year and has published nearly 1,000 books since it was founded in 1959. It's racked up eight American Book Award winners and 22 International Latino Book Award winners. In the past five years, it's shipped more than 1.3 million books to customers all over the world.
And yet, people still mistake it for the student-run newspaper.
"When people hear I work for UA Press, they say, 'Oh, you work for the Arizona Daily Wildcat,' " says publicity manager Holly Schaffer.
Um, no.
Allow us to give a more proper introduction to the University of Arizona Press, and not a moment too soon, considering this is a milestone year — it turns the big 5-0.
The nonprofit Press, which has a staff of about 23, publishes scholarly as well as literary works, everything from topics like archaeology and space science to children's books. The Press' acquisitions editors look at about 350 manuscripts, proposals and ideas in any given year.
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Each book is reviewed by a minimum of two experts in its field and must receive at least two recommendations for publication, as well as the approval of the Press' own publications board, says interim director Kathryn Conrad.
"This is information that's been peer-reviewed and is the most authoritative in the field. . . . It's not publishing celebrity biographies — we publish a lot in Native American and indigenous studies," says Conrad, who's also the Press' sales and marketing manager and has been with the UA department since 1995. "It feels good to know that you're providing the most reliable information out there."
The Press has a special place in Steve Strom's heart.
The astronomer and landscape photographer has published four books with the UA Press. The first was a collaborative effort with writer and poet Joy Harjo, combining her poems with Strom's photos. The UA Press took on "Secrets From the Center of the World" after another publisher passed on it. The book ended up selling nearly 20,000 copies and is in its fourth printing, giving Strom some level of vindication.
"They've done a darn good job for the people living in Arizona," says Strom. "They've provided great support for technical series like 'Protostars and Planets,' an outlet for Latina authors, and have played a major role about informing people about the Southwest and celebrating it. They deserve kudos."
UA Press Titles
The UA Press puts out two catalogs a year. You can find its titles at www.uapress. arizona.edu/ catalogs/index.php
UA Press Sidewalk Sale
10 a.m.-2 p.m. Nov. 21 at the UA Press office, 355 S. Euclid Ave. (behind Office Max). Score deals on "scratch and dent" books along with half-off specials on selected titles. Food and entertainment, too.
Trimmest Title/ Longest Book
"A Yaqui Easter" by Muriel Thayer Painter, which was published in 1971, is the slimmest volume in the UA Press catalog. The book — which details the Yaqui Easter celebration — is 40 pages.
On the other end of the spectrum is "Protostars and Planets III" by Eugene Levy, Jonathan I. Lunine, with Mildred Shapley Matthews and Mary L. Guerrieri. The third volume in the series has more than three dozen chapters, which tackle topics like the collapse of clouds and the formation and evolution of stars and disks. It clocks in at 1,596 pages.