The Department of English at Portland State University offers graduate work leading to a Master's degree in Book Publishing. The graduate program in Book Publishing is at the forefront of publishing education nationally. Students gain a comprehensive view of the industry through the program’s required foundational courses. They also have the opportunity to specialize in an area of the publishing process. Students develop their specialization by engaging in a variety of experiential learning opportunities, the most notable of which is Ooligan Press, a publishing house staffed by students in the graduate program in Book Publishing with guidance and supervision provided by expert faculty. Students in the program must complete a final research paper with a 10-page minimum. The topic of this research paper is determined by a research question generated by the student and approved by the student’s advisor. This collection includes those final research papers that have been reviewed and approved by the students' advisors.
Submissions from 2024
Manga in Bookstores, Claire Curry
Prose by Any Other Name: Analyzing Changes to Translated Book Titles in Japanese and English, Angela Griffin
Exploring Consent: An Analysis of Consent in Dark Romance and Contemporary Romance Books, Janeth Hernandez
Bridging Barriers to Digital Accessibility: An Opportunity for Technical Editors, Julian Luck
Digital Comics Subscription Service Usage and Its Impact on Printed Comic Buying Habits: The Digital Comics Subscription Loop, Isaac Swindle
Evaluating Equitable Successes In Literary Spaces A Portland Book Festival (PBF) Case Study, Tia-Theo Thompson
Language Representation Diversity in Independently Translated Literature, Cecilia Too
Submissions from 2023
Reactions to Latinx Children’s Picture Books from Indie Presses: An Analysis of Online Consumer Reviews, Karina L. Agbisit
An Industry-Standard Profit and Loss Statement for Book Publishing Professionals in the United States, Jackie Krantz
Examining the Discovery Behaviors of Comics Consumers, Tara McCarron
The Identification of Representation Gaps in Diverse US Children's Picture Books, Alena Rivas
The Satisfaction Clause in Publishing Agreements: A Case Study of Its Purpose, Controversy, and Future, Maliea Ruby
Author Demographics of Outdoor Books: Exploring Diversity On The Shelves at Oregon Outdoor Retailers, Nell Stamper
Metadata Decentralized: An Examination of Folksonomy in Book Publishing, Dani Tellvik
Struggling to Thrive: NYC Publishing Salaries in the Age of Inflation & Implications for Diversifying the Publishing Workforce, Em Villaverde
Trends in Young Adult Literature: A Quantitative Approach to Characterizing the New York Times Young Adult Bestsellers of 2020, 2021, and 2022, Anna Wehmeier Giol
Submissions from 2022
Artificial Intelligence as a Content Creator in the Publishing Industry, John Huston
The Rise of XR Storytelling and the Contribution of Consumer Accessibility, Cost Efficiency, & Intrinsic Value to Feasibility, Sarah Moffatt
Systemic Barriers That Exclude BIPOC Authors From Literary Awards and the Proposed Solutions to Evoke Change, Devyn Yan Radke
International Cross-Media Adaptation: A Case Study of The Witcher, Alexa Schmidt
Submissions from 2021
Pride, Prejudice, and Diversity: The Retelling Culture The Development and Analysis of Best Practices for Diverse Modern Re-imaginings of the Classics, Hannah Boettcher
Diversity and Representation in Oregon’s Battle of the Books, Catharine Brown
Woman Turned Warrior: An Analysis on the Strong Female Character Trope and the Influence it has on Gender Stereotypes Through the Use of Back Cover Copy, Alexandria Gonzales
The Patriarchy in Publishing: Examining Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Women (Non-men) in the Publishing Industry, Grace E. Hansen
Something Old, Something New: How Chapbooks and Crowdfunding can Reduce Financial Risk for Small Publishers, Jennifer Lindsay
Uncovering the Dirt on Cancel Culture: An In-depth Analysis of Publishing’s Relationship with Controversy, Alix Martinez
The Influence of Ursula K. Le Guin, Bailey Potter
Covid-19 and Open Access in the Humanities: Impacts and Emerging Trends, Olivia Rollins
Consent Is Sexy: A Look Into the Influence the ‘Me Too.’ Movement Had On the Romance Genre Through Smart Bitches Trashy Books, Mary Williams
What Compels Millennial Parents to Buy Books for Their Children?, Emma Wolf
Submissions from 2020
Eco-Publishing in The Book Industry: An Interdisciplinary Case Study with Patagonia Books, Julie A. Collins
Pottermore, A Case Study: What Publishers Can Learn About Developing Interactive Transmedia in the Post-Web Age, Megan Crayne
Identifying and Connecting with Diverse SFF Readers, Denise Morales Soto
A Major Motion Picture or Just a Picture? An Analysis in Movie Tie-Ins vs. Original Cover Art, Vivian Nguyen
Does My Favorite Murder Inform Listeners' Favorite Media?, Dani Nicholson
Beloved and the Water Dancer: A Longitudinal Study of Book Reviews From 1987 and 2019, Tiffany Watson
Ethics and True Crime: Setting a Standard for the Genre, Hazel Wright
Submissions from 2019
The Small Publisher’s Guide to Audiobooks, Stephanie Anderson
Diversity in YA: A Look at How Book Description Language Talks About Race, Brittney Finato
Approaches to Contested In-Group Terminology for Mindful Editors, Jasmine Gower
Why Do Adults Read Young Adult Books?, Monica Hay
A Cover is Worth 1000 Words: Visibility and Racial Diversity in Young Adult Cover Design, Jenny Kimura
Consumerism-Driven History: The American Girl Brand as Publisher and Arbiter of Girlhood Identity, Sarah Loepp
Marie Kondo and the New Self-Help, Kristen Ludwigsen
Engagement in the Fiber Craft Community: How Authors Can Increase Visibility and Market Their Books, Victoria Raible
Pay to Play: Internships, Post-Graduate Education, and the Cost of Working in Publishing, Madison Schultz
Online Frenzy: How Wattpad Can be Used in Traditional Publishing, Taylor Thompson
Coding LGBTQ Content: BISACs, Fanfiction, and Searchability in the Digital Age, Hanna Ziegler
Submissions from 2018
The Role of the Developmental Editor in Emerging Forms of Narrative, Stephanie Argy
Beyond BookScan: How Publishers Can Use Alternative Data To Supplement Traditional Sales Metrics for Genre Fiction, Grace Evans
Submissions from 2017
Make the Old New Again; or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Penguin’s Classic Redesigns, Sophie Aschwanden
Print Books and E-Books: How Each Format Plays a Role in Reading Comprehension, Maeko Bradshaw
BookTube and the Formation of the Young Adult Canon, Melina Hughes
Establishing the Conservative Genre: The Beginning of Political Censorship or Business as Usual?, Vi Rose La Bianca
Tools for Nonfiction Developmental Editors, Jacoba Lawson
Trends in Marketing for Books on Animal Rights, Gloria H. Mulvihill
How to Edit Controversial Texts, Nicholas M. Shea
What Color Is the Threshold? An Exploration of the Materiality of Racial Descriptions in Marketing Paratext in Adult Fiction, Jordana Beh Wathey
Submissions from 2016
Publishing Puzzles: Some Implications of Literary Diffculty for the Editor, Brendan Brown
Elevating the Translator: Next Steps in Promoting International Literature, Olenka Burgess
We Need Diverse Books and Independent Publishers: A Portland, Oregon, Perspective, Kellie Doherty
This Is Your Brain on Editing: How Digital Tools Affect the Cognitive Processes Behind Copyediting, Megan Doyle
525,600 Minutes: How Do You Measure Cultural Diversity in Oregon Trade Publishing?, Alyssa Gnall
We’ll Want It When We Say We Want It: How the Market Speaks to the Publishing Industry via Crowdfunding, and Why Publishers Should Listen, Alan Scott Holley
Foreign Word Alert, Foreign Word Alert: Rethinking Editorial Approaches to the Italicization of Foreign Terms, Katey Trnka
Building Brand and Community: Tracing the Impact of NonBook Literary Programming on Book Publishers' Economic and Cultural Capital, Hayley Wilson
Anarchism in Book Publishing: An Exploration of Business and Ethics, Alexis M. Woodcock
Submissions from 2015
The Migration of Bibliographic Methodology, Zachary Thomas Eggemeyer
Blogs and Book Promotion: Measuring Success, Melanie Figueroa
Critical Editions and the Promise of the Digital: The Development and Limitations of Markup, Alexandra Haehnert
Social Media Blogs-to-Books: Changes in Content and the Editorial Process, Kyra Hearn
E-Books and Author Payments: The Affect of Digital Publishing on Author Royalties, Missy Lacock
Independent Publishers and Transition to Nonprofit: Distress Call or Mission-Based Evolution?, Meagan Lobnitz
The Considerations of Editing Previously Published Works, Ariana Marquis
Changing Publisher-Author Relationships in the Midst of Developing Crowd-Funded Publishing Platforms, Margaret Schimming
Imagine That! Word Balloons in Children's Picture Books, Erika Schnatz
A Publisher’s Look at eBooks and Their Affect on Young Readers, Caitlin Waite
Not That Kind of Publisher: How NovelRank and BookScan Can Benefit Small Publishers' Marketing and Promotions, Geoff Wallace