Our Interests

As a general trade press, Ooligan seeks to publish the finest works of literary, cultural, and social value. We publish a wide variety of books, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and books for young adults (we aim to publish one young adult book and one work of poetry each year). We gladly accept submissions from writers living in the Pacific Northwest, writers whose work has a strong Pacific Northwest connection, and writers within the Portland State University community. We are particularly interested in local nonfiction and regional fiction, as well as the following:

• New or rediscovered works with a Pacific Northwest connection
• Works that give a voice to the region’s underrepresented
• Works on the craft and teaching of writing, editing, publishing, and book arts
• Previously unpublished English translations of foreign works

To save postage and time, please note that we do not publish:

• Children's picture books
• Middle grade books
• Self-help books
• How-to manuals
• Mass-market books in the following genres: romance, erotica, science fiction, westerns, and fantasy
• Poetry chapbooks (works fewer than sixty-four pages)

Our Acquisitions Process

All manuscripts and proposals are read and reviewed by a committee of students enrolled in the Publishing Program at PSU. Each manuscript is read by multiple readers to ensure a strong, informed decision regarding the possible acquisition of the work. On rare occasions, a manuscript will be read and reviewed by students in the Book Editing, Advanced Book Editing, or Children's Book Publishing classes. This will be done only when the acquisitions committee requires further response to a work in order to reach a decision. A manuscript or proposal will never be read outside the acquisitions committee without author permission for any purpose other than review.

Submission of a proposal or manuscript implies consent to the above practices. Once a decision by the committee has been reached, the author will be informed of the decision in a timely manner. We respond to query letters within four weeks and to proposal and manuscript submissions within 2-3 months. As we are a teaching press, we have an extended review process, so please be patient.

Our Submission Guidelines

QUERIES THROUGH MAIL OR EMAIL

While we prefer mailed queries, we will look at electronic query letters if they appear in the body of the e-mail message. In the interest of saving everyone time and effort, please do not send any materials to the press as an email attachment, as we will not open any unsolicited attachments. This rule is in place for security reasons, but also due to the fact that we cannot devote the time or resources to printing out works for consideration.

When submitting a query letter, for consideration, please follow these guidelines:

• Include a brief summary of your manuscript, a description of the intended audience and potential market, and a short paragraph about yourself and your publishing history.
• Include your contact information, but only include your email address if this is an acceptable way to contact you.
• Electronic Queries only can be emailed to: ooliganacquisitions@pdx.edu

PROPOSALS AND MANUSCRIPTS THROUGH MAIL ONLY

When submitting a proposal or manuscript for consideration, authors should follow our submission guidelines. Please note that submissions that do not include all of the requested materials will not be reviewed. Here are the Ooligan Press submission guidelines:

• Include a cover letter with a summary of your work, a projected page count, the intended audience, a list of marketing ideas for your work, and a list of published works that compare to and compete with your writing.
• Include a table of contents, if appropriate.
• If your work is a full-length fiction text, include at least fifty pages (round to the nearest chapter). For nonfiction work, include three full chapters and a summary of all the chapters. If we are interested, we will contact you to request the full manuscript for consideration.
• To receive our response by mail, include a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) with your submission. If you would like your entire manuscript returned, please include an envelope with sufficient postage. All unreturned submissions are recycled thirty days after a decision has been made.
• Mail all of the above to:
  
  Acquisitions Committee
  Ooligan Press
  Portland State University
  P.O. Box 751
  Portland, OR
  97207-0751