The University of Arizona Press
July 24, 2019
People of the Press is back this week! Inspired by the Association of University Presses celebration of the people of AUPresses, we would also like to celebrate our dedicated publishing professionals throughout our 60th anniversary year.
Today, we’re featuring our Marketing Manager, Abby Mogollon.
Hello Abby, what do you do for the Press?
I am the Marketing Manager for the University of Arizona Press. With a three-person marketing team, we have an all-hands-on-deck approach to our marketing and communications. It takes everyone doing their part. I have a wide variety of duties, from guiding our overall marketing strategy to overseeing our website and metadata. I work on book covers and jackets with our designer, coordinate with our sales reps across the country, and much more. All in support of helping our authors share this vital scholarship! My favorite work is when I get to spend time at an exhibit or book festival, hand-selling our books and meeting authors and customers.
How long have you worked at UA Press?
I just reached my tenth anniversary!
The University of Arizona Press is committed to helping contribute to an informed society and enlightening readers. What’s one thing you’ve learned from your work?
I feel like every day I’m learning something new in this job. Whether it’s new ways to market our books or new ways to think about the world, thanks to our author’s scholarship. I feel so lucky to have a job where every day I’m learning something new. Perhaps the one thing I’ve learned is to just keep learning and being ready to change.
What would people be surprised to learn about your work?
So much of book publishing is invisible. It takes a great partnership between the press and the author to spread the word about a book, and a lot of thought and planning is happing behind the scenes. For example, for every review a book receives, there were probably ten or even twenty pitches to outlets. I think people may also be surprised to learn how much thought goes into those quotes on the back of a book. We call them blurbs and think carefully about who we request them from, and the authors who provide blurbs spend a significant amount of time with a work to come up with those two sentences that appear on the back of a book. It’s a real craft. With the advent of digital marketing and metadata, the traditional channels for sharing and publishing information has gotten exponentially more interesting and complex.
Tucson has a thriving literary and scholarly community. What’s one of your favorite spots to hear authors, find a good book, or just curl up and read?
I really love hearing authors talk about their work or present their poetry. I’m incredibly grateful to Antigone Books and the UA Poetry Center for the opportunities they provide to connect authors and audiences. I also love the University of Arizona Bookstore’s selection of books. Whether it’s a preview of authors coming to the Tucson Festival of Books or the new University of Arizona Press books, they are a tremendous asset to our community. For reading, I just love hunkering down on the couch with a book, and my dog Petal curled up next to me. That’s the best kind of afternoon.
