Professional News

UPK Rising Star to do Lone Star State Residency

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 28, 2009) − Laura Sutton, regional trade acquisitions editor for the University Press of Kentucky (UPK), has been selected for the Whiting Week-in-Residence Program presented by the Professional Development Committee of the Association of American University Presses (AAUP). During her five-day residence with the University of Texas Press, Sutton will collaborate with staff members of the Texas press and learn more about regional trade publishing, long-term project development and fundraising.

"This is a wonderful opportunity," said Sutton. "Texas has a tremendous list of regional titles and an excellent reputation."

The Whiting Week-in-Residence Program is designed to give press staff members the chance to improve or study new skills from colleagues who are experts in a particular area. The program also furthers the exchange between presses and contributes to intellectual stimulation and problem-solving ideas for both the host and the Whiting winner's home press.

Sutton, who received a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Kentucky in 1989 and a master's degree in journalism from the University of Georgia in 1997, also serves the press as editor of Appalachian studies.

Sutton is the third UPK employee selected in recent history for the AAUP residence program; the others were Allison Webster, direct mail and exhibits manager for UPK, who worked with the University of California Press in 2004, and sales manager John Hussey, who worked with Columbia University Press in 2007.

The Whiting Week-in-Residence Program is presented through AAUP, a trade association of more than 100 nonprofit academic and scholarly publishers. AAUP offers the program with funding from the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation, which is dedicated to support of the humanities and creative writing.

Offices for the administrative, editorial, production and marketing departments of UPK are found at University of Kentucky, which provides financial support toward the operating expenses of the publishing operation.