The winners and finalists of the 2012 Saroyan Prize for Writing have been announced: Elisabeth Tova Bailey's The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating won in the non-fiction category, and Daniel Orozco's Orientation and Other Stories won for fiction. The finalists for non-fiction are Arion Golmakani's Solacers and John Jeremiah Sullivan's Pulphead; and for fiction, Ben Lerner's Leaving the Atocha Station and Miroslav Penkov's East of the West: A Country in Stories.

From the Stanford News story:

The major literary award, sponsored by Stanford University Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation, encourages new or emerging writers in fiction and non-fiction. The award honors the life and legacy of the American writer and playwright William Saroyan.

...

William Saroyan was the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Time of Your Life (1939-40), the novel The Human Comedy (1943) and many volumes of short stories, essays and memoirs. Born in Fresno in 1908 to Armenian parents, Saroyan was a high school dropout and largely self-educated. He is best known for his short stories about the experiences of immigrant families and children in California. He died in 1981.

Stanford University Libraries houses the William Saroyan Collection, which includes manuscripts, personal journals, correspondence, drawings and other material.

Events

Calling ourselves The Stanford University Libraries

by Chris Bourg

After careful consideration, the University Librarian and the Directors have agreed to change our organizational name from “Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources” to "The Stanford University Libraries". Effective immediately, all staff should refer to the organization as The Stanford University Libraries or Stanford Libraries; and should discontinue use of the name “Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources” and all of its abbreviations and derivatives (e.g. SULAIR, SU/LAIR, SUL/AIR).

Our well-earned reputation as leaders in digital library development and academic technology work means that the name The Stanford University Libraries stands alone as describing and signifying the full range of traditional and digital library functions, publishing functions, and academic & information technology support that occurs under our umbrella.

The name The Stanford University Libraries (or Stanford Libraries) should be understood to include:

Collection Development and Public Services in Science & Engineering, Humanities, Social Sciences, and International & Area Studies
Academic Computing Services (including Student Computing, the ATS Program, CourseWork, the Digital Language Lab, etc.)
Digital Library Systems & Services (DLSS) and Enterprise Systems and Programming (ESP)
Technical Services (Access Services, Acquisitions, Metadata, and Preservation)
Library Communications & Development
Library facilities, administrative services, budget office and human resources

HighWire Press, the Stanford University Press, and LOCKSS are enterprises of the Stanford University Libraries, reporting to the University Librarian.

We are announcing this change now so that those who are creating content for the new website (now at http://librarypreview.stanford.edu) will use The Stanford University Libraries (or Stanford Libraries, or SUL) in place of "Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources" (or SULAIR) when referring to the organization as a whole. A comprehensive branding and publicity project, to include standards for print materials such as letterhead and business cards, as well as logos and presentation templates, will be completed at a later date.

For questions, please contact Andrew Herkovic, Director of Communications & Development at andrew.herkovic@stanford.edu.

Staff news

Friday, July 27, 2012

Promotions and new hires at Stanford University Press

Alan Harvey was named Director of Stanford University Press. Harvey, who arrived at the Press in 2002, has been a frequent speaker to academics and librarians on the 21st-century publishing landscape. For four years, he was chair of the electronic publishing committee of the Association of American University Presses. Harvey came to the Press after 14 years at Cambridge University Press, for which he founded and managed the West Coast office. He was also responsible for the editorial management of its North American science program.

Former Director Geoffrey Burn will continue to support Harvey as Deputy Director for the next 12 months. He will also continue as Executive Editor for the Stanford Security Studies series of publications, which he founded and plans to expand, and for SUP's International Relations and Politics lists.

Kate Wahl was named Publishing Director, Editor-in-Chief. She started at the Press in 2001, and was most recently Executive Editor. She will continue to acquire books in Sociology and Middle East Studies.

Emily-Jane Cohen, who has been with the Press since 2006, has been promoted to Senior Editor, Literature, Philosophy and Religion. She was a French-trained professional chef and pastry chef after college and, after getting a PhD in literature, taught in the Stanford Humanities program as well at colleges, high, junior high and elementary schools in the Bay Area.

Margo Beth Fleming, who has also been with the press since 2006, has been promoted to Senior Editor, Economics and Organizational Studies. Prior to 2006 she was Associate Editor, Research Methods and Evaluations at SAGE Publications, Inc.

Michelle Lipinski was named Acquisitions Editor in Anthropology, Asian Studies and Law. Previously Michelle was with Oxford University Press, where she has worked for the past five years. She was an associate editor in their law division, acquiring titles in jurisprudence, legal biography, and neuroscience and law.

-Stanford University Press

Staff news