Reingard Nischik Wins Margaret Atwood Society ‘Best Book’ Award For Second Time

Today, the Margaret Atwood Society announced the winners of the prestigious Margaret Atwood Society Awards. Among them was Engendering Genre: The Works of Margaret Atwood by UOP author Reingard Nischik.
     
The Best Book Award is conferred each year by the Margaret Atwood Society, an international association of scholars, teachers, and students who are devoted to the Canadian icon’s work. Five awards are given to authors in the categories of best book, best article, best dissertation, best graduate essay and best undergraduate essay. The society’s goal is to promote scholarly exchange on Atwood’s oeuvre by providing opportunities for scholars to exchange information.

Engendering Genre explores how Atwood has developed her writing to be gender-sensitive, and argues that her use of gender and genre emphasizes the gender-bias inherent in traditional genres. The book also includes the first in-depth treatment of Atwood’s cartoon art, as well as an interview with the Canadian icon.

“We were thrilled to hear of the society’s choice” said Michael O’Hearn, Director of the University of Ottawa Press. “It is wonderful to see Reingard recognized for her outstanding work.”

Reviewers have had nothing but good things to say:

"Offering interpretations of some of Atwood's best-known and less-familiar works, Nischik has written chapters that are individually strong but which together provide a way to read Atwood's oeuvre as a 'significant cultural document of our times.' Highly recommended."
-- Choice

"Nischik's strength is in the minutiae and in her close reading. This is what Atwood scholarship needs now, and Nischik provides a strong framework for anyone interested in Atwood scholarship, whether one is just starting out or an experienced scholar." -- The Goose

Congratulations, Reingard!!


To find out more about Engendering Genre, or to buy a copy of your very own, visit: http://www.press.uottawa.ca/book/engendering-genre

Lancement de la nouvelle collection aux PUO: 'Traduction littéraire'

Open publication - Free publishing - More lancement

Spotlight on Tom Symons, founder of Trent University

It looks like The Peterborough Examiner has scooped the UOP! Our publicist was surprised to find a link to this article in her inbox this morning, and incredibly impressed with how quickly the news has gotten out about one of our yet-to-be announced titles: Tom Symons, A Canadian Life. This project is so new to the UOP that we haven't yet prepared marketing copy on the title, so for today, we'll let The Examiner do the talking.
Ed Arnold writes:

Peterborough's (we can proudly call him that now since he's lived here for more than four decades, can't we?) Tom Symons, the founder of Trent University, is being recognized with a new book on his professional life. Symons, who has more letters after his name than the alphabet, is one of Canada's educational/ cultural icons and has been for more than 50 years.

The book will be published next year by the University of Ottawa Press and, according to the alumni association newsletter, will tell "the story of Symons's leadership across many areas of Canadian and international life over the past 60 years."

The book Tom Symons, A Canadian Life will have a chapter by Denis Smith, Trent's first vice president, that is to be all about the university's first decade. Other chapters will look at Symons's national unity, Canadian, cultural, heritage and commonwealth roles. Various people including Walter Pitman, John Fraser, Rosalie Abella, ad Tom McMillan, will write chapters.

It's about time.

You can access the article here: http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2835626

We're happy to know that Peterborough locals are as excited about the book as we are, and we'll be sure to send The Examiner a review copy!
 

Calling all professors!

We’ve tried to make it as easy as possible for post-secondary instructors to order examination and desk copies from us. Gone are the days of trolling through our site, finally finding that book you want, and then having to fish out an email or a fax number from our contact info. Now, when you land upon that perfect title for your class, it’s one click to our examination copy request form.

You’ll find the link to the form next to the cover image of the book. When you click that link, you’ll be brought to a form that gathers all the information we need from you. The ISBN of the book you want to order is automatically populated into the form so we can find it instantly. You can add the title or the ISBN of one or two other books. (We kindly ask that you request no more than 3 books a term.)

You’ll get a response from one of our staff to let you know the book is on its way. And we may follow up with you in a few months to see what you thought. Pretty easy, eh?

So this is the last in our series on our new website. We touched on the high points and we hope that you’ll check out the site to see what else has changed. Overall, we think we’ve made a much more informative and user-friendly site.

But we what we think doesn’t matter that much – what are your thoughts?

uOttawa celebrates Open Access Week!

The University of Ottawa community is celebrating Open Access this week, as we come together to highlight the benefits of Open Access and its importance in the dissemination of research.

If you're looking for a bit of a backgrounder on Open Access and what this is all about, the Open Access Week website, located at http://www.openaccessweek.org/ is a great resource. According to the site,

"Open Access Week is a global event now entering its fourth year, is an opportunity for the academic and research community to continue to learn about the potential benefits of Open Access, to share what they’ve learned with colleagues, and to help inspire wider participation in helping to make Open Access a new norm in scholarship and research. [...]

This year’s Open Access Week (October 18 – 24) will highlight the collaboration and collective action that have heightened the momentum behind Open Access and showcase a broad range of initiatives around the globe. Participation by hundreds of universities, research facilities, and other sites worldwide will illustrate the depth and breadth of support for Open Access and demonstrate the real impact of unfettered access on advancing discovery across disciplines."

Check out the video below to learn more about how the University of Ottawa is participating. The best part is that around the 15 minute mark, the UOP is mentioned!

Open Access Week 2010 from SPARC on Vimeo.

So you want to be a UOP author…

Our editor, Eric Nelson, had a big influence on our new website. He wanted to see more information available for people interested in publishing with us. Well Eric, you got what you wanted!

A comprehensive submission guide is now found in the “Info” section of the site, complete with standard editorial schedules, documents for download and contact information.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you could publish with the UOP, you can find answers here: http://www.press.uottawa.ca/info/submissions

I can’t imagine we missed anything (I think we went through eight drafts of that page!) but on the off chance that we have, let us know and we’ll fill in the gaps.

Photos from the launch of Sofia Tolstoy's memoirs

Here are some great pictures that were taken Wednesday evening during the launch of My Life, the memoirs of Sofia Andreevna Tolstaya. Thanks to Peter Thornton for providing us with the photographs.

Front row, left to right: François Houle,Vice-President Academic and Provost; Andrew Donskov, Editor of My Life; Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber, uOttawa student.

Back row: Dmitry Avdeev, First Secretary to the Russian Ambassador; Antoni Lewkowicz, Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Ottawa; John Woodsworth, Translator of My Life; Michael O’Hearn, Director of the University of Ottawa Press; Roman Shevchenko, Third Secretary to the Russian Ambassador, Arkadi Klioutchanksi, Translator of My Life.

Michael O’Hearn, Director of the University of Ottawa Press

Andrew Donskov, Editor of My Life

Unknown attendee

Unknown guests

Arkadi Klioutchanski, Translator of My Life

Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber, student; Arkadi Klioutchanski and John Woodsworth, Translators of My Life

John Woodsworth, Translator of My Life

Antoni Lewkowicz, Dean, Faculty of Arts; Dmitry Avdeev, First Secretary to the Russian Ambassador; crowd

UOP Renovations at Home and Online

You may have heard that our offices underwent renovations not that long ago. At the same time, we were renovating our online home – our website. You may have already noticed the changes.

For the month of October, we’ll be posting a little note each week about a new feature on our website. We’d like for you to try it out and let us know what you think. Consider it an informal beta test.

And just so we can get the obvious out of the way, we'll start with the shopping cart. Yes, you can now buy UOP books in the comfort of your own home, regardless of where you are! We’ll ship them to you and in no time you’ll be enjoying your very own UOP book.

Our entire catalogue is up there, so go nuts. Seriously. And let us know how you felt about your shopping experience.

UOP Home Page:  http://www.press.uottawa.ca/

Moving again!

Well, it's the Thursday before the long weekend, and UOP staffers are packing up and getting ready to leave 705 King Edward, which has been our temporary home since mid-July. It seems that renovations at 542  are close to complete, and things should be all set for us to resume our regular operations on Wednesday September 6, 2010.

A couple things to keep in mind:

• Friday is moving day, so staff will be working from home as best they can.

• Until Wednesday September 6, phones will not be operational - so contacting us via email is a better bet.  
• We're crossing our fingers for no delays, but Murphy's law says...stuff happens. 

I think that's everything - now I'm off to find the packing tape.

Have a good long weekend, everyone!

Sneak peek @ Sofia Tolstoy's memoirs!

Yesterday, our managing editor Marie Clausén went to oversee the printing of our upcoming book My Life, otherwise known as the long lost memoirs of Sofia Andreevna Tolstoya.

If the name doesn’t ring a bell immediately, here’s a little background.

Sofia was the wife of the celebrated writer and philosopher Leo Tolstoy, who wrote such classics as War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and The Kreutzer Sonata. In her memoirs, she gives readers an intimate look into the life of her family and a unique portrait of late-19th-century and early-20th-century Russia. To find out more about the book, visit the website.

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the printing of the book:

Tolstaya press check @ Solisco Tri-Graphic - the cheerful chap in charge of printing the full-colour image inserts

Checking the colour levels...

Colour insert sample page

Boxed signatures

Isn't that neat? Thanks to Marie for sharing the pictures!

Rénovations aux PUO

Notre édifice

Réception

Escaliers

Bureau de Marketing

La place pour notre nouvelle petite cuisinette

Bureau de Marie, Secrétaire générale d'édition

Voici quelques photos des rénovations aux PUO! Nous espérons que les entrepreneurs seront finies par la fin de la semaine prochaine. C’est bien beau, n’est ce pas?

Poetry Events in Ottawa

As promised, here are some poetry events going on in Ottawa in the next little while!



Canadian Author’s Association Poetry Circle
Time: Thursday April 22, 6:00 pm.
Place: Collected Works, 1242 Wellington Street
More information: www.canauthors-ottawa.org/writerscircles.shtml

Café Nostalgica Music & Poetry Open Mic
Time: every Thursday at 8pm
Place: 603 Cumberland, University of Ottawa Campus
More information: gsaed@uottawa.ca

Urban Legends Poetry Slam
Time: Friday April 23, 6:30pm
Place: Rooster's Cafe, Carleton University
More information: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Urban-Legends-Poetry-Slam/101529778283

Poetry Cabaret: Spotlight on Talon Books
Time: Saturday, April 24, 2010; 6:30pm
Place: Mayfair Theatre, 1074 Bank Street
More information: http://www.writersfestival.org/events.html

Poetry Cabaret: Pan-Canadian Poetics
Time: Monday, April 26, 2010; 8:00pm
Place: Mayfair Theatre, 1074 Bank Street
More information: http://www.writersfestival.org/events.html

Did you know that National Poetry Month begins today?

National Poetry Month began in Canada in April 1999 by the League of Canadian Poets. The event aims to bring together schools, publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, and poets all across the country to celebrate the wonderful world of poetry and its important place in Canadian culture.

In the spirit of the celebration, we will be stretching our imaginations and flexing our poetry muscles to bring you what we consider the best of poetry. Check back to read about poems and poets that we love, poetry that we’ve published, and perhaps even some that we’ve written. We’ll also keep you up to date on readings, poetry slams, and other poetry-based events going on in the Ottawa region.

Feel free to let us know what you like or don’t like, or let us know if you’ve got something poetry-related going on!

If you want more information on National Poetry Month, or would like to request a free poster, check out the League’s website: http://www.poets.ca/linktext/npm.htm

Review - The Forgotten Peace: Mediation at Niagara Falls

David M. Malone has reviewed our book The Forgotten Peace: Mediation at Niagara Falls in the March issue of the Literary Review of Canada (LRC). The review is not freely available online right now, but it is available for purchase on the LRC website. As a consolation prize, here’s a summary of the book and some of what Malone has to say about it.

Discord and conflict is a part of everyday life. It can be about something as simple as how your next-door neighbour’s willow tree is encroaching on your backyard. You try to resolve the conflict by bribing him with cheesecake and asking nicely, but when he finally does agree to do some gardening, it’s at 6 am Saturday morning and includes the use of a chainsaw. How to tactfully resolve the conflict, when the neighbour is holding a weapon in his hands?

Imagine a similar situation, but between two countries. At an international level, the problem becomes much more complex and many more variables need to be taken into consideration. A variety of stratagems including diplo¬matic negotiations, mediation, and peace-keeping come into play. In Michael Small’s The Forgotten Peace: Mediation at Niagara Falls, the author describes a dispute that occurred between the United States and Mexico in 1914. The U.S. has taken issue with the overthrow of Mexico’s democratically elected leader in a military coup d’état. President Woodrow Wilson takes the moral high-ground and declares that he will not deal politically with a dictator, and decides to involve itself intimately in Mexico’s civil war. Mayhem ensues.

In one of the first broad-scale attempts at international mediation, Argentina, Brazil and Chile offer to mediate a peaceful resolution to the conflict between the U.S. and the two factions in Mexico. In his review, Malone writes:

“We Canadians tend to know too little about Latin American history. Small’s The Forgotten Peace helps fill the void. It reminds us of the relative stability over the past century in Latin America, dominated as it was by entrenched, highly educated, self-serving and wealthy elites in states, the borders of which have not moved much since 1900. Mexico, with its tormented history of revolution, dictator¬ship and democratic decay until quite recently, is in some ways an exception to the pattern. It escaped the spectacularly failed military dictatorships of so many Latin American countries of the 1960s to 1980s, but largely stagnated under the grip on power throughout much of the 20th century of the amusingly titled Institutional Revolutionary Party. Because these countries share our hemisphere, which Canadian governments have from time to time, and certainly currently, proclaimed as a prior¬ity for Canadian foreign policy, it is useful to know more.”

He continues:

“Small, a former Canadian ambassador to Cuba, writes beautifully. The book’s footnotes are finely wrought. The production design, with art nouveau graphic touches, is superb—indeed, the best I have seen in any book, short or long, in some time. The volume contains amusing annexes—not least political cartoons from the time (playing on biblical as well as contemporary themes and displaying a sophistication many of today’s cartoonists would admire).”


For further information on The Forgotten Peace: Mediation at Niagara Falls, visit our Website.