UW-Stevens Point student publishing house to launch newest fiction work
The student-staffed publishing company at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point will launch its newest book, a collection of short stories, with several activities this week.
Cornerstone Press will release “Great Escapes from Detroit,” by Detroit-native writer Joseph O’Malley, at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, in the Encore Theater of the Dreyfus University Center. Open to the public, the event will include live music, refreshments and featured speakers, including the author.
In addition, Cornerstone Press will host a reading and book signing earlier in the day at Ruby Coffee Roasters in Stevens Point from 10-11:45 a.m. O’Malley will also be the guest speaker and a featured reader at the university’s annual Writer’s Workshop for high school students Wednesday, Dec. 4.
“Great Escapes from Detroit” is part of the Legacy Series of fiction books published each fall. It will be available for purchase at the launch event and online at Amazon.com or www.uwsp.edu/cornerstone, along with the publishing house’s previous works. For more information, visit @uwspcornerstonepress on Facebook.
In his debut book, O’Malley tells stories of families living in Detroit. In an imperfect city that beckons and repels, these characters probe the ever-shifting terrain of the human heart, where the tenacious pull and push of love, trepidation and occasional joy plays out as they navigate the opposing impulses that exist in all families: to embrace their circumstances, or to escape.
A resident of New York City, N.Y., O’Malley was born and raised in Detroit, Mich. He is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and his stories have been featured in dozens of literary magazines and journals.
“Joe O’Malley is an excellent storyteller,” said Ross Tangedal, director and publisher of Cornerstone Press, and an assistant professor of English at UW-Stevens Point. “His stories are microcosms of the pain and joy that all families feel, and his love for his characters is ever-present. Cornerstone Press is proud to introduce O’Malley and his first book into the publishing world.”
Established in 1984, Cornerstone Press consists of students in the editing and publishing courses offered each semester at UW-Stevens Point. Students have hands-on experiences in all aspects of publishing, from editing to marketing the finished product. It operates with the support of the English Department and College of Letters and Science and is directed and taught by Tangedal. To learn more about Cornerstone Press and its publications, go to www.uwsp.edu/cornerstone.
