A Leader in Publishing Asian American Studies

by

Kathryn Page Camp

 

www.kathrynpagecamp.com

 

May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. May was chosen because two important events happened then: (1) the first Japanese immigrants arrived in America on May 7, 1843, and (2) the transcontinental railroad, built mainly by Chinese laborers, was completed on May 10, 1869.

 

This month commemorates the culture, traditions, and history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. That’s a goal shared by the University of Washington Press (UWP), which publishes books in Asian American Studies.

 

I’m currently writing a middle-grade novel that deals with the Japanese American incarceration during World War II. In the research phase, I compiled a library of 18 books specific to the subject. They come from 13 different publishers, and Scholastic and Heyday (out of Berkeley, California) are responsible for two books each. But weighing in with four books, no publisher dominates my collection the way the UWP does. In fact, of the six memoirs sitting on my shelf, UWP published half.

 

Although my research emphasis was on Japanese Americans, UWP also covers Chinese Americans and other Asian groups, and it publishes practically every genre except perhaps children’s books. And while the majority are works by Asian American authors, that’s clearly not a requirement.

 

If you are looking for research material for a book involving Asian American culture, tradition, or history, check out the titles available from UWP. Or if you have completed a book with that emphasis and are looking for a publisher, you can find the submission guidelines at www.washington.edu/uwpress/resources/guide_for_authors.html.

 

The University of Washington Press celebrates Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month all year long.

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Kathryn Page Camp is a licensed attorney and full-time writer. Her most recent book, Writers in Wonderland: Keeping Your Words Legal (KP/PK Publishing 2013), is a Kirkus’ Indie Books of the Month Selection. Kathryn is also the author of In God We Trust: How the Supreme Court’s First Amendment Decisions Affect Organized Religion (FaithWalk Publishing 2006) and numerous articles. You can learn more about Kathryn at www.kathrynpagecamp.com.