As a case study of the path to publication, From Manuscript to Marketplace offers candid talks between an author and members of their publishing team about each step of the publication process: acquisition, editorial, marketing, and more.

Author Patrice Gopo joins us with University of Nebraska Press acquisitions editor Courtney Ochsner and marketing & sales manager Rosemary Sekora to discuss Autumn Song: Essays on Absence, which was recently published as part of the press’ American Lives Series.

A Q&A will follow the presentation; you can pre-submit a question when registering for the event. A recording will be made available for those who cannot attend live.

The event will take place via Zoom with automatic closed captioning. To request any other accessibility features, please email support@authorsguild.org and we will make every effort to accommodate.

Panelists

Patrice Gopo is an award-winning essayist who writes stories steeped in themes of place, belonging, and home. She is the author of two essay collections: Autumn Song: Essays on Absence (University of Nebraska Press American Lives Series) and All the Colors We Will See (a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection). Her debut picture book, All the Places We Call Home, is based on one of her essays. When she’s not writing, Patrice hosts the podcast Picture Books Are for Grown-Ups Too! because she believes in the power of stories to help build connections between people. Patrice lives with her family in North Carolina, where she enjoys walks just after dawn and thinks a perfect day ends with ice cream. Please visit www.patricegopo.com to learn more.

Courtney Ochsner is an acquisitions editor at the University of Nebraska Press. She acquires trade creative works, oversees the series-based poetry program, and manages the Backwaters Press annual poetry contest. She graduated from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with a BA in English and has worked in scholarly publishing since 2009.

Rosemary Sekora is the marketing and sales manager at the University of Nebraska Press. She has a bachelor of journalism degree and a master’s degree in English, both from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and started her publishing career as a book publicist in 2012. For now, you can follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @rasekora.

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