FY2016 University of Alaska Press Annual Report

A N N UA L FY2016 REPORT

www.uapress.alaska.edu

TABLE OF

CONTENTS

Front and back cover image taken from Little Whale: A Story of the Last Tlingit War Canoe.

University of Alaska Press PO Box 756240 Fairbanks, AK 99775-6240 907.474.5831 www.uapress.alaska.edu

Message from the Manager

3

Books Published in FY2016

4

Notable Reviews, Mentions, Awards

6

Social Media and Partners

8

Exhibits and Events

9

Sales and Financial Summary

10

Series Editors, Advisory Board, Staff

11

FROM THE

MANAGER

Photo by JR Ancheta, UAF

I’m pleased to present to you the University of Alaska Press FY16 annual report. We were able to publish 15 outstanding titles over the past two seasons—everything from our bestselling science title Coloring the Universe to Made of Salmon to the hit novel Geography of Water. We were also able to complete and release Alaska Politics and Public Policy by Clive Thomas, which has been many years in the making.

We received more national and international media coverage and reviews for our trade books than ever before— with coverage ranging from Forbes magazine to The Atlantic; South China Morning Post to the Chicago Tribune; BBC Sky at Night to Wired magazine and more. We also continued to receive critical recognition for our scholarly and academic titles. Choice magazine recommended Fierce Climate, Sacred Ground for all levels of education and libraries, and Arctic journal called it “a concise, powerful, and illuminating description of Shishmaref’s experience as a community, as a media magnet, as the object of extensive planning and discussion, and as an exemplar of climate change.”

Net sales for the year remained steady and slightly above FY15. Ebook sales are still going strong with nearly 1,100 electronic copies sold last year. We continue to partner and collaborate with many different departments within the university and agencies across the state. And most importantly, our books keep getting adopted for courses, receive high praise and awards, are used in academic research, reach children K-12, and are enjoyed by general readers everywhere.

It would be difficult to sum up the past year without mentioning the uncertainty surrounding the state and university’s budget. We want to thank the university administration and our advisory board, series editors, authors, partners, friends, and readers for the support we received. We are genuinely grateful. Because of this, the Press will proudly celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2017.

I hope you continue reading and enjoy the rest of the report, which highlights our activities and achievements over the past year. The devotion, hard work, and talent of the Press staff shines throughout. And as we look to the near future, there are seven new books on the horizon for fall. We hope you get a chance to read some of them.

Sincerely,

Amy Simpson

3

BOOKS

PUBLISHED IN FY2016

University of Alaska Press Scholarly and Trade Academic Books Coloring the Universe An Insider’s Look at Making Spectacular Images of Space

Anguyiim Nalliini/Time of Warring The History of Bow-and-Arrow Warfare in Southwest Alaska

TRAVIS A. RECTOR, KIMBERLY ARCAND, AND MEGAN WATZKE

EDITED BY ANN FIENUP-RIORDAN TRANSLATED BY ALICE REARDEN

Married to the Empire Three Governors’ Wives in Russian America, 1829–1864

More Than God Demands Politics and Influence of Christian Missions in Northwest Alaska, 1897–1918

SUSANNA RABOW-EDLING

ANTHONY URVINA WITH SALLY URVINA

Fierce Climate, Sacred Ground An Ethnography of Climate Change in Shishmaref, Alaska ELIZABETH MARINO

Permafrost Book Prize

Selected by UAF English Department Published by UA Press Scavengers Stories Alaska Politics and Public Policy The Dynamics of Beliefs, Institutions, Personalities, and Power EDITED BY CLIVE S. THOMAS WITH LAURA C. SAVATGY AND KRISTINA KLIMOVICH

Connecting Alaskans Telecommunications in Alaska from Telegraph to Broadband HEATHER E. HUDSON

4

BECKY HAGENSTON

Snowy Owl Trade Imprint of the University of Alaska Press Stubborn Gal The True Story of an Undefeated Sled Dog Racer

Wealth Woman Kate Carmack and the Klondike Race for Gold

DAN O’NEILL ILLUSTRATED BY KLARA MAISCH

DEB VANASSE

Outside in the Interior, Second Edition An Adventure Guide for Central Alaska

Our Perfect Wild Ray and Barbara Bane’s Journeys and the Fate of the Far North

KYLE JOLY

KAYLENE JOHNSON-SULLIVAN WITH RAY BANE

Made of Salmon Alaska Stories from the Salmon Project EDITED BY NANCY LORD

Alaska Literary Series

Poetry, Fiction, and Literary Nonfiction Peggy Shumaker, Series Editor The Geography of Water MARY EMERICK

Cabin, Clearing, Forest ZACH FALCON

5

NOTABLE REVIEWS,

MENTIONS, AND AWARDS

“What singles this book [Coloring the Universe] out is how it lifts the curtain on the processes by which these spectacular images are made. There are explanations of the astrophysics of celestial objects, how telescopes and cameras capture and record light, as well as the software techniques used to create these striking images. . . .

After reading it you’ll probably never look at an astronomy image in quite the same way again.”

—BBC Sky at Night Magazine

“The Iñupiaq to English Dictionary provides a comprehensive and detailed overview of the grammar, lexicon, and history of the language, while simultaneously providing a great deal of insight into Iñupiaq culture and traditional knowledge. . . . Edna Ahgeak MacLean has accomplished an impressive work of language documentation and it should serve as a precious tool for language conservation and revitalization efforts in the years to come.”

—Anthropological Linguistics

“Interspersed with photos and essays from local elders, teachers, and researchers at the site, Kal’unek From Karluk allows readers to consider the project from multiple viewpoints and adds a personal warmth. . . . Those who love archeology, history, and Native culture will find this book to be a rare and worthy discovery.” —Alaska magazine

“Scavengers features twelve of the freshest, most inspiring pieces of short fiction I have read in years...These pieces are funny and devastating, often tinged with what some call ‘magical realism,’ and yes, profoundly and beautifully strange. . . . Scavengers is short fiction done right.” —The Clarion-Ledger

Alaska Dispatch News named five UA Press books “Favorites of 2015” Picture Man: The Legacy of Southeast Alaska photographer Shoki Kayamori

The Creatures at the Absolute Bottom of the Sea I Follow in the Dust She Raises Overwinter Stubborn Gal: The True Story of an Undefeated Sled Dog Race

Forbes Magazine

Coloring the Universe: An Insider’s Look at Making Spectacular Images of Space

BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Coloring the Universe: An Insider’s Look at Making Spectacular Images of Space

South China Morning Post

Coloring the Universe: An Insider’s Look at Making Spectacular Images of Space

The Atlantic

Fierce Climate, Sacred Ground: An Ethnography of Climate Change in Shishmaref, Alaska

Chicago Tribune

Coloring the Universe: An Insider’s Look at Making Spectacular Images of Space

6

National Optical Astronomy Observatory News

Coloring the Universe: An Insider’s Look at Making Spectacular Images of Space

Choice Magazine

Exploring and Mapping Alaska: The Russian American Era, 1741–1867

Fierce Climate, Sacred Ground: An Ethnography of Climate Change in Shishmaref, Alaska Kal’unek From Karluk: Kodiak Alutiiq History and the Archaeology of the Karluk One Village Site

Kirkus

Little Whale: A Story of the Last Tlingit War Canoe

Alaska Magazine

Kal’unek From Karluk: Kodiak Alutiiq History and the Archaeology of the Karluk One Village Site

The Geography of Water Wealth Woman: Kate Carmack and the Klondike Race for Gold

Wired Magazine

Coloring the Universe: An Insider’s Look at Making Spectacular Images of Space

Sky & Telescope

Coloring the Universe: An Insider’s Look at Making Spectacular Images of Space

Western Historical Quarterly

A Dangerous Idea: The Alaska Native Brotherhood and the Struggle for Indigenous Rights

Arizona Daily Star

Coloring the Universe: An Insider’s Look at Making Spectacular Images of Space

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

The Creatures at the Absolute Bottom of the Sea Cabin, Clearing Forest

Alaska Dispatch News

Coloring the Universe: An Insider’s Look at Making Spectacular Images of Space

The Creatures at the Absolute Bottom of the Sea The Geography of Water Cabin, Clearing, Forest Life and Times of a Big River: An Uncommon Natural History of Alaska’s Upper Yukon

Bellingham Herald

Stubborn Gal: The True Story of an Undefeated Sled Dog Racer

Poetry Northwest Sailing by Ravens

Alaska History

Kiska: The Japanese Occupation of an Alaska Island

Harnessed to the Pole: Sledge Dogs in Service to American Explorers of the Arctic, 1853-1909 Steaming to the North: The First Summer Cruise of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Bear, Alaska and Siberia, 1886 Seventeen Years in Alaska: A Depiction of Life Among the Indians of Yakutat

The Polar Times

Harnessed to the Pole: Sledge Dogs in Service to American Explorers of the Arctic, 1853-1909

Kiska: The Japanese Occupation of an Alaska Island

Ecolit Books

Among Wolves

Southern Humanities Review Overwinter

Alaska Public Media

Kal’unek From Karluk: Kodiak Alutiiq History and the Archaeology of the Karluk One Village Site

Anthropological Linguistics Iñupiatun Uqaluit Taniktun Sivuniŋit/Iñupiaq to English Dictionary

International Journal Of Maritime History

Steaming to the North: The First Summer Cruise of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Bear, Alaska and Siberia, 1886

Arctic, Antarctic And Alpine Research

Yupik Transitions: Change and Survival at Bering Strait, 1900–1960

Arctic

Fierce Climate, Sacred Ground: An Ethnography of Climate Change in Shishmaref, Alaska

Kal’unek From Karluk: Kodiak Alutiiq History and the Archaeology of the Karluk One Village Site

Newscenter 11

Our Perfect Wild: Ray and Barbara Bane’s Journeys and the Fate of the Far North

Juneau Empire

Star Tribune

Kitsap Sun

Zone 3

New Pages.com

National Fisherman

Cabin, Clearing, Forest Stubborn Gal: The True Story of an Undefeated Sled Dog Racer Overwinter

Scavengers Plash and Levitation Made of Salmon: Alaska Stories from the Salmon Project 7

The Clarion-Ledger

Contributions To Literacy In Alaska Award

Journal of Historical Geography

Barbara S. Smith Pathfinder Award

Scavengers

Exploring and Mapping Alaska: The Russian American Era, 1741–1867

Edna MacLean for the Iñupiaq to English Dictionary Mary Ehrlander for Seventeen Years in Alaska: A Depiction of Life Among the Indians of Yakutat

SOCIAL

MEDIA The UAP Facebook page is over the 760-fan mark with more than 154 posts this year. Our most popular post was an Alaska Dispatch News story titled “McGuire joins Alaska authors forging Alaska’s new compelling literary tradition” with 749 people reached.

In FY16, our Twitter feed reached 550 followers, up from 260 last year.

Our e-Marketing strategy focuses on integrating our social media efforts to promote new releases, sales promotions, and events.

PRESS + PARTNERSHIPS

= COLLABORATION ON BOOKS UA Press continues to collaborate with partners and agencies across the state and within the UA System. There are numerous recent and forthcoming collaborative projects in the works.

Rasmuson Foundation

Creative Alaska: A Ten-Year Retrospective of Support for Alaska Artists, 2004–2013

Calista Education and Culture, Inc. Anguyiim Nalliini/Time of Warring: The History of Bow-andArrow Warfare in Southwest Alaska

Ciulirnerunak Yuuyaqunak/Do Not Live Without an Elder: The Subsistence Way of Life in Southwest Alaska

University of Alaska Anchorage/National Science Foundation Coloring the Universe: An Insider’s Look at Making Spectacular Images of Space

UA Foundation Alaska Politics and Public Policy: The Dynamics of Beliefs, Institutions, Personalities, and Power

Cornerstone on College Hill, 2nd edition 8

UAF Department of English | Permafrost Book Prize Scavengers UAF Alaska Native Language Center

Shem Pete’s Alaska: The Territory of the Upper Cook Inlet Dena’ina, revised 2nd edition

Alaska Literary Series Partners

The Geography of Water Cabin, Clearing, Forest

EXHIBITS AND

EVENTS

The University of Chicago Press exhibited our Fall 2015 and Spring 2016 books at 17 notable conferences around the country.

International Communication Association

Society for the Study of Evolution

National Communication Association

American Political Science Association

Association of Writers and Writing Programs

National Women’s Studies Association

Printers Row Book Fair Ecological Society of America

UA Press staff also attended several conferences and events throughout Alaska and the Lower 48.

Native American and Indigenous Studies Assoc.

Alaska Library Association Conference

Society for Conservation Biology

Arctic Science Summit Week

American Historical Association Organization of American Historians

Museums Alaska/Alaska Historical Society Conference

American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science

UAF Discover Alaska Lecture Series

American Astronomical Society

Tanana Valley State Fair

National Association of Native American Studies

Fairbanks Holiday Market Place

Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology

Annual Holiday Open House

American Anthropological Association

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SALES AND

FINANCIAL SUMMARY

Net Income FY2010–2016 Gross units Returns Net units

FY10-Total FY11-Total

FY12-Total FY13-Total

FY14-Total

FY15-Total FY16-Total

28,234 (3,999) 24,235

31,466 (2,362) 29,104

28,585 (3,030) 25,525

33,266 (4,161) 29,105

32,060 (3,433) 28,627

32,320 (4,328) 27,992

28,246 (4,420) 23,826

426,116 (34,293) 391,823 8.0 44.9

379,607 (40,310) 339,297 10.6 43.2

457,860 (58,704) 399,155 12.5 43.9

435,317 (52,328) 382,988 10.7 48.2

392,584 (61,240) 331,343 15.60 45.8

412,124 (71,156) 340,968 17.27 45.6

387,699 Returns ($) (54,775) Net sales ($) 332,924 % returns 14.1 Net avg. discount 44.0 Gross ($)

NET SALES $ Fiscal Year Net Sales $ FY09 371,268 FY10 332,924 450,000 FY11 391,823 FY12 339,297 FY13 399,155 391,823 400,000 FY14 382,988 371,268 FY15 331,343 FY16 340,968 350,000 332,924

NET UNITS

Net Sales $ 399,155

382,988

339,297

331,343

340,968

Fiscal Year Net Units FY09 29,165 FY10 24,235 FY11 29,104 35,000 FY12 25,525 FY13 29,105 29,165 FY14 28,627 29,104 30,000 FY15 27,992 FY16 23,826 24,235

25,000

300,000

Net Units

29,105

28,627

27,992

25,525

23,826

20,000

250,000 200,000

15,000

150,000

10,000 100,000

5,000

50,000 0

10

0 FY09

FY10

FY11

FY12

FY13

FY14

FY15

FY16

FY09

FY10

FY11

FY12

FY13

FY14

FY15

FY16

SERIES EDITORS, ADVISORY BOARD,

AND OUR STAFF

UA Press Series Editors Peggy Shumaker, Alaska Literary Series Terrence Cole, Classic Reprint Series William Schneider, Oral Biography Series Marvin Falk, Rasmuson Library Historical Translation Series Past and present Advisory Board members: Nancy Lord, Emily Wall, Eric Heyne, Karen Perdue, Frank Soos, John Straley, Maria Williams, and Kevin Walker

Advisory Board

Staff

Emily Wall, CHAIR Juneau

Amy Simpson Manager

Eric Heyne Fairbanks

Krista West Production Editor

Nancy Lord Homer

Laura Walker Sales and Marketing Coordinator

Frank Soos Fairbanks

Dawn Montano Publicity Coordinator

John Straley Sitka

Kevin Winker Fairbanks

Photo by JR Ancheta, UAF

Maria Williams Anchorage

Staff: Krista West, Laura Walker, Dawn Montano, and Amy Simpson

11

MISSION STATEMENT The University of Alaska Press is the premier publisher of scholarly and other high quality works on the history, cultures, peoples, and natural environments of Alaska, the circumpolar North, and Pacific Rim. The Press also publishes exceptional titles of broader interest. Through its publications, UA Press serves the scholarly community, K-12 educators, and the general public.

HISTORY Launched in 1967, the University of Alaska Press is a nonprofit scholarly publisher and distributor of books about Alaska and the circumpolar regions. Although physically located at the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus, the Press represents the entire University of Alaska System–—its three main universities (UAA, UAF, and UAS) as well as their satellite campuses—and by extension the entire state of Alaska.

UA Press publications cover an expanding range of subject areas, including politics and history, Native languages and cultures, science and natural history, biography and memoir, poetry, fiction and anthologies, and original translations.

The Press publishes books in print and electronically for both the scholarly community and the general public. UA Press also serves as a distributor for many entities within the University of Alaska System and various independent publishers. UA Press books reach a global audience through sales and distribution provided by the University of Chicago Press.

The Press has an independent advisory board of scholars and writers with a diverse range of expertise. The board is responsible for final review and selection of titles published by the Press. UA Press is a member of the American Association of University Presses.