You don't have to be a great writer
to help make great books.
Your charitable gift to Louisiana State University Press helps
us continue a distinguished tradition in book publishing. From the
pages of LSU Press books rich and diverse worlds spring to life.
We publish important, often award-winning books in many fields,
including southern biography and literature; studies of the Civil
War and other southern and military history; books by established
and emerging poets; and illustrated books on the culture and natural
wonders of Louisiana and the Gulf region. The name LSU Press is
synonymous with a tradition of excellence.
LSU Press has an eye for great books. Honors earned by LSU Press
books include three Pulitzer Prizes, the National Book Award, the
National Book Critics Circle Award, the American Book Award, the
Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Bancroft Prize, the Lincoln Prize,
and many others. LSU Press is the only university press to have
won Pulitzer Prizes in both fiction and poetry.
LSU Press’s nationally and internationally recognized program
is built on books about the South. The Press is dedicated not only
to the publication of fine works of scholarly research but also
timely general interest and regional books. Each year LSU Press
brings out 80 new books, mostly in the following areas:
• Southern history, biography, and literary studies
• The Civil War and World War II
• Regional photography, focused mainly on the Gulf South
• Louisiana studies
• Poetry and fiction
• Music studies, especially jazz
• Geography and environmental studies
• Politics and media studies
Continuing a Tradition
of Excellence
Louisiana State University Press is a nonprofit book publisher.
At present, LSU Press is 90% self-supporting, with revenue generated
primarily from book sales, grants, rights and licenses, and contributions
from individuals.
Our mission is to publish high-caliber, significant works, regardless
of sales potential. Some books will become top sellers, others will
be published mainly because of their contribution to human knowledge.
Books are expensive to produce. Your support will enable the Press
to continue its publishing program and maintain its long and consistent
tradition of excellence going back to 1935.
From Ignatius Reilly’s hilarious yet heartbreaking antics
in John Kennedy Toole’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel
A Confederacy of Dunces, to the lush splendor of C. C.
Lockwood’s color photographs of southern Louisiana’s
wildlife and natural environment, to the definitive historical accounts
of the capture of New Orleans and the siege of Port Hudson in the
Civil War, LSU Press has published a vast array of acclaimed books
in the past 70 years.
How You Can Help
Make Great Books
• Become a donor and friend, join us at events, and help
spread the word about the good work of the Press
• Sponsor a book that requires a subsidy to cover special
costs associated with publication, such as our newly launched Yellow
Shoe Fiction series, debuting Fall 2005
• Underwrite a book series or new publishing initiative
in areas such as the Civil War and other southern history, southern
literature, or poetry
• Establish your own named endowment to support one of the
Press’s distinguished publishing programs
• Name the Press as the beneficiary of a planned gift, either
through a life income gift or a bequest
Support LSU Press
Your gift makes a difference!
We are pleased to recognize your contribution. Gifts at the levels
below receive the following benefits:
Bibliophile—$100
Reader benefits plus 10% off all LSU Press books
Litterateur—$250
Reader benefits plus 15% off all LSU Press books and annual recognition
in the Press’s newsletter
Partner—$500
Reader benefits plus 20% off all LSU Press books, annual recognition
in the Press’s newsletter, and invitations to LSU Press’s
special author events
Director’s Circle—$1,000
Reader benefits plus 25% off all LSU Press books, annual recognition
in the Press’s newsletter, invitations to LSU Press’s
special author events, and recognition in annual Director’s
Circle book
Publisher’s Circle—$5,000
Reader benefits plus 30% off all LSU Press books, annual recognition
in the Press’s newsletter, invitations to LSU Press’s
special author events, recognition in annual Director’s Circle
book, and recognition on donor plaque in the Press lobby
Publishing Patron—$10,000
Reader benefits plus 30% off all LSU Press books, annual recognition
in the Press’s newsletter, invitations to LSU Press’s
special author events, recognition on donor plaque at the Press,
and individualized recognition in a book selected in accordance
with your area of interest.
1935 Society—$25,000 and above
Reader benefits plus 35% off all LSU Press books, annual recognition
in the Press’s newsletter, invitations to LSU Press’s
special author events, recognition on donor plaque at the Press,
individualized recognition in a book selected in accordance with
your area of interest, and an option to establish an endowed fund
to perpetuate support of a publishing program
For online
giving, please choose "Other" from the "For the
Benefit of" dropdown menu and type in "University Press
Development Fund."
OR
Print out the contribution
form and mail to:
MaryKatherine Callaway, Director
LSU Press
3990 West Lakeshore Drive
Baton Rouge, LA 70808-4684
LSU Press
Underwriting Opportunities
Editorial Opportunities
Fund the Louisiana Environmental Studies series ($250,000)
The Press is committed to developing a list in environmental studies,
an area of vital importance to the state. This series of books would
draw attention to and help provide understanding of Louisiana’s
unique environmental concerns.
Fund From our Own Correspondent, a series of classic reprints
in media studies ($150,000)
To expand our list in media studies, the Press would like to acquire
and bring back into print a series of books focused on the work
of foreign correspondents. These books could be used for courses,
and some would be of interest to general readers.
Provide a named endowment to support publication in the
Press’s key field of southern history (including Civil War
studies, Louisiana history, and Atlantic world studies), ($250,000)
LSU Press’s reputation for publications in southern history
is unsurpassed. Our scholarship in southern history has won hundreds
of prizes and brought many distinguished authors onto our list.
Income from these books rarely covers the initial costs of producing
them, however, and this endowment will help cover the shortfall.
Sponsor our newly launched Yellow Shoe Fiction series ($5000
per year)
LSU Press gained national recognition through its publication of
the novel A Confederacy of Dunces in 1980. Since then, the Press
has continued to seek and publish the best in fiction, through its
association with the Pegasus Prize and its Voices of the South series.
In 2005, we launched a new series, Yellow Shoe Fiction, edited by
Michael Griffith, designed to continue our list in literary fiction.
Promotion of fiction is costly, though this outlet provides national
attention for the Press and for promising writers.
Endow the Advance Fund, designated to provide author advances
for key projects on which we compete against other presses ($125,000)
We often compete for the best books, and sometimes we lose potential
projects to other presses, since we are usually unable to provide
royalty advances to authors. This fund will allow us to offer occasional
advances for the most sought after works.
Endow The Warren Fund for poetry publishing ($150,000)
Poetry publishing is an integral part of the Press’s list
and one for which we’ve won national awards. Brendan Galvin’s
Habitat was just selected as a finalist for the 2005 National Book
Award, an award we’ve won in the past and for which we’ve
had five finalists. We’ve also won two Pulitzer Prizes in
poetry. While quite a distinguished list, the poetry list does not
provide significant income, and books in this area rarely earn back
their costs. This fund will allow us to continue to publish quality
poetry for a national audience.
Support the Phillabaum Poetry Award ($500 per year)
The Press recently established the L. E. Phillabaum Poetry Award
to honor our director emeritus and his long commitment to poetry
publishing. The $500 cash prize will be given each spring to the
author of a new poetry book.
Marketing Opportunities
Support printing of the seasonal catalog ($25,000 per season)
Our seasonal catalog is the most prominent way in which we advertise
our forthcoming books. Each fall and spring more than 30,000 catalogs
are mailed out worldwide, and many readers know of Louisiana, LSU,
and its press primarily through this medium. With this fund, we
can improve our printing, enhance our color reproduction, and expand
our mailing list, which continues to be cut each season as mailing
costs rise.
Fund advertisements, either individually (New York Times
Book Review: $7000; Atlantic Monthly: $1500; NY Review of Books:
$5000; Chronicle of Higher Education: $2,500; Choice: $1,200) or
through aggregate advertisement support
While advertisements in national publications are an attractive
and visible way to promote the Press and its books, these advertisements
cost far more than those in scholarly journals. Rarely is the Press
able to take advantage of such ads from our regular advertising
budget. This fund will allow more prominent advertising.
Support prize submissions ($2000 per year)
We submit our books for an average of 150 prizes each year, and
we have an impressive record in winning major awards. As of 10/05,
LSU Press authors have received 20 prizes in 2005. But these awards
come at a cost: each submission for the National Book Award costs
$100 and each submission for the Pulitzer Prize costs $50 per book.
With money from this fund, we can submit more books for prominent
prizes and a wider range of books for all awards.
Sales Opportunities
Endow a fund for promotion of LSU Press books in overseas
markets ($75,000)
One of our goals is to promote our books worldwide, not just in
the United States. With support, we can hire new sales representatives,
fund new distribution arrangements, and advertise our books in other
markets.
Endow a fund for promotion of LSU Press books in bookstores
($75,000)
Barnes & Noble and Borders, the major chain booksellers, charge
a fee for any special
in-store promotion, a good way to draw attention to our books. Barnes
& Noble’s “End Cap” promotion (to feature
books at the end of a row) in major markets costs $2500 per title,
and Borders’ “Better Stores” promotion (which
features books in their larger stores) runs $1250 per title. All
booksellers require money from the publisher to fund signings or
in-store events. This fund will support such promotion.
Promotional Opportunities
Support the Author Travel Fund ($15,000 per year)
We are rarely able to support travel for any of our authors, and
many of them undertake travel to promote their books at their own
expense. This fund would allow us to provide small amounts to subsidize
authors’ reasonable travel expenses to key events.
Endow a fund for electronic and web promotion ($20,000)
As our reliance on the internet as a promotional tool continues
to grow, creative and targeted electronic and web promotions are
key components of an effective sales campaign. This fund will allow
us to improve our website and seek sales via electronic methods
and ebooks.
Operational Support
Establish an equipment fund ($75,000)
The Press constantly needs to upgrade computers, purchase new software,
and buy other equipment to allow the staff to do their work. This
fund will improve our ability to upgrade the current equipment.
To discuss these opportunities, please contact:
MaryKatherine Callaway, Director
LSU Press
3990 West Lakeshore Drive
Baton Rouge, LA 70808-4684
(225) 578-6295
mkc@lsu.edu
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