Visionary director of UNO Press sacked amid budget cuts at the University of New Orleans
Published: Friday, August 03, 2012, 6:49 PM Updated: Friday, August 03, 2012, 7:14 PM
The director of UNO Press, the University of New Orleans’ ambitious, nationally regarded book publishing venture, will lose his job in the current round of state-mandated budget cuts for public universities in Louisiana.
Bill Lavender, the New Orleans editor who led the UNO Press to national prominence, has lost his job amid state-mandated budget cuts at the University of New Orleans.
Professor Bill Lavender, who also led UNO’s Low Residency MFA and Creative Writing Program, confirmed on Friday that his position at the press has been eliminated. Lavender was the sole employee of the press, which he operated with a staff of four graduate assistants. News of his departure spread on the internet Thursday as authors and students began a petition drive in support of the ousted writer. Lavender also lost his position with the university’s writing program for MFA students who did much of their work online and met with faculty during brief, intensive residencies.
UNO spokesman Adam Norris declined to comment on changes at the press and in the MFA program, noting that the school is still formulating its budget plans and expects to make formal announcements about cuts in the coming week.
The fate of the publishing venture remains unclear, Lavender said
“I’ve been asked to tell our authors that UNO is evaluating the press to determine what course of action the school will take with it in the future,” Lavender said
Lavender transformed the publishing operation during his tenure. When he took the reins in 2007, it had two out-of-print books in its inventory, both by UNO faculty. Currently the press has about 80 titles in print. It specializes in works in translation, including fiction and poetry by some international figures who first appeared in English through UNO’s program. Lavender also forged an alliance with the popular Neighborhood Story Project, published two oral histories about Hurricane Katrina, and championed books like “New Orleans: The Underground Guide,” a quirky eccentric guide for tourists that sold especially well at local festivals.
Lavender attracted big names to the press, including the widely published New Orleans fiction writer Moira Crone. Crone, who won a prestigious Robert Penn Warren Award for Fiction, turned to UNO Press to publish her 2012 novel, “The Not Yet.”
“As an author, I was delighted to work with a publisher that would take a chance on a book that was way outside my usual kind of writing,” Crone said. “Bill encourages innovation in writers.”
Crone also praised the innovative business model that Lavender created at UNO Press.
“I have never encountered a publisher — in New York or at other universities — that was so agile, so savvy and responsive about publicity, and so smart about using new technology and short print runs to keep costs down,” Crone said. “This wasn’t a place with tons of books sitting around in boxes. They know how to get books into the hands of readers. The press is a feather in the cap for New Orleans: a literary addition to the international profile we already have as a port, a music center and a culinary hub.”
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Chris Waddington can be reached at cwaddington@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3448 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 504.826.3448 end_of_the_skype_highlighting. Follow him at twitter.com/cwaddingtontp.
Bill Lavender, the New Orleans editor who led the UNO Press to national prominence, has lost his job amid state-mandated budget cuts at the University of New Orleans.UNO spokesman Adam Norris declined to comment on changes at the press and in the MFA program, noting that the school is still formulating its budget plans and expects to make formal announcements about cuts in the coming week.
The fate of the publishing venture remains unclear, Lavender said
“I’ve been asked to tell our authors that UNO is evaluating the press to determine what course of action the school will take with it in the future,” Lavender said
Lavender transformed the publishing operation during his tenure. When he took the reins in 2007, it had two out-of-print books in its inventory, both by UNO faculty. Currently the press has about 80 titles in print. It specializes in works in translation, including fiction and poetry by some international figures who first appeared in English through UNO’s program. Lavender also forged an alliance with the popular Neighborhood Story Project, published two oral histories about Hurricane Katrina, and championed books like “New Orleans: The Underground Guide,” a quirky eccentric guide for tourists that sold especially well at local festivals.
Lavender attracted big names to the press, including the widely published New Orleans fiction writer Moira Crone. Crone, who won a prestigious Robert Penn Warren Award for Fiction, turned to UNO Press to publish her 2012 novel, “The Not Yet.”
“As an author, I was delighted to work with a publisher that would take a chance on a book that was way outside my usual kind of writing,” Crone said. “Bill encourages innovation in writers.”
Crone also praised the innovative business model that Lavender created at UNO Press.
“I have never encountered a publisher — in New York or at other universities — that was so agile, so savvy and responsive about publicity, and so smart about using new technology and short print runs to keep costs down,” Crone said. “This wasn’t a place with tons of books sitting around in boxes. They know how to get books into the hands of readers. The press is a feather in the cap for New Orleans: a literary addition to the international profile we already have as a port, a music center and a culinary hub.”
•••••••
Chris Waddington can be reached at cwaddington@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3448 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 504.826.3448 end_of_the_skype_highlighting. Follow him at twitter.com/cwaddingtontp.
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