The University Press at Southeast Missouri State University experienced a change in leadership in January following the retirement of Dr. Susan Swartwout.

A tenured professor, Swartwout was the founding publisher and editor of the press and worked on novels by local authors, such as “The Gold of Cape Girardeau” by Morley Swingle.

Dr. James Brubaker, assistant professor, became the new director of the press at the start of the spring semester and said he has run into some unforeseen difficulties in his first few weeks as director, including dealing with a new distributor.

“[The transition] has been a little overwhelming but mostly exciting figuring out how everything works,” Brubaker said. “It has been very smooth, in part, because of our amazing assistant editor, Carrie.”

Carrie Walker, assistant editor, has been working at the press for three years. Walker, along with her editorial work, is responsible for layout and design, proofreading and administrative work and is also a resource at the press to help train and oversee the students, Brubaker said.

“Carrie is there everyday of the week, and is doing more than anybody,” senior Dakoda O’Kelly said.

O’Kelly is finishing up his bachelor’s degree in English writing with a small press publishing minor at Southeast.

The University Press is home to the students who have opted for the small press publishing minor. As a requirement for a minor, the students take part in an internship at the press where they proofread submissions that come in and may ultimately be produced by the press.

Some of those submissions are journals, such as “The Big Muddy: A Journal of the Mississippi River Valley,” “The Cape Rock,” a literary journal, and “Journey,” a student publication that the press prints.

Student interns also read through manuscripts that are submitted for the press’s awards, the Nilsen Prize for a First Novel and the Cowles Poetry Prize. The goal of the Nilsen and Cowles prizes is to bring new authors to campus and to support new and emerging writers, Brubaker said.

“I would like to make a name for us as a place that publishes more creative works, in addition to what we are already doing,” Brubaker said.

Just seven interns make up the current group, as there are a limited number of spots available at the press for students who are in the small press publishing minor or the English writing track. The students apply for the internship as part of their degree requirements as if it were a class they had to take, Brubaker said.

“I wish it got more notoriety among the rest of campus,” O’Kelly said. “Until I started at the press, I didn’t even know where the office was. It just gets so little attention.”

Located at 810 Normal Ave., the University Press is across the street from the Grauel Building. Along with Brubaker and Walker, some of the professors from the department of English have temporary offices in the once four-bedroom home, until the renovations of Grauel are completed. The building also is used as storage for past publications and novels produced by the press.

For more information on the University Press, please visit http://www.semopress.com/.