An Interview with SUP’s Sarah Rodriguez
When people learn that I work at University Press, I receive all sorts of questions. They’re always very curious about what it’s like to consider manuscripts. But I don’t consider manuscripts. (People in marketing don’t consider manuscripts.) So, I redirected the question to an Editorial Assistant, Sarah, because they actually do consider the manuscripts.
We discussed Sarah’s interest in culture and media studies, their background in creative writing, and the space of a University Press.
KAPANI KIRKLAND: Hi. How's it going?
SARAH RODRIGUEZ: Hi. It's going good.
KK: Good. So, you work on projects. You work on books. Is there something that you're working on that you're excited about?
SR: I feel like Dylan and Marcella both have lists that are aligned with my interests. (Dylan and Marcela are my two mentors.) I come from an anthropology background, so most of the projects in that list are exciting. I got to make notes on a project that discusses the marginalization of Black cemeteries. We wanted to see if some creative nonfiction elements were working, and some of my notes helped with the revision. It was cool… I felt like an actual editor.
KK: That’s awesome. Also, I didn't know you were an anthropology major in college.
SR: Mm-hmm. A minor.
KK: Minor. Yeah. What was your major?
SR: Creative writing.
KK: Oh, I knew that. We’ll circle back. We’ve talked about this in passing, but you’ve mentioned that you’re interested in becoming an acquisitions editor. Would you have an anthropology list?
SR: I'm interested in anthropology, for sure. I also have an interest in pop culture studies and media studies. That's something I want to keep an eye on as I continue to be an assistant. But on becoming an acquisitions editor, it's kind of luck of the draw. It's whatever's open at the time, it's just like you take it in, and you kind of make it your own. I think that’s one of my favorite things about acquisitions: each editor can do something new with their list, depending on what their interests are.
KK: What's interesting to you about culture and media studies?
SR: I really like intersectionality in culture, and I have a broader interest in gender and queer studies. I like seeing the intersections of queerness with cultures that maybe we don't see as generally accepting of queerness. And I like seeing how queerness looks underneath that culture. So, how does a queer culture thrive in a country that’s homophobic? I’m mainly interested in instances outside of America, so Asia or the Middle East. UT Press has a great book called Brown Trans Figurations about the intersection of Latinx and Chicanx culture with genderqueer culture.
KK: Why did you choose to work at University Press?
SR: I graduated in 2020, the December of 2020 when the world was bleak. I had a kind of general interest in publishing, just because I was a creative writing major, and I said, "I have to do something to make money so I can survive. And stuff.”
I had a nice professor at University of Houston, Julia Brown, who— she just kept sending me different fellowships and entry-level positions through different publishers, not just university publishing but trade publishers, too. I got into UT’s program. It was great: I’m from Texas, and UT is this prominent school in Texas.
I really didn't know anything about academic publishing before going to UT. The closest thing I got to publishing was I worked briefly for a year for a literary magazine as an editor. So—
KK: That's sick. I didn't know that.
SR: Yeah, it was so much fun. It was called Consequence… we published stories about war and geopolitical violence. Lots of pieces on conflicts like Palestine or the Korean War from the perspective of the marginalized instead of, like, the victors.
But at UT, I learned more about publishing in general alongside scholarly publishing. And I just kind of fell in love with it, especially after I went to AUP in DC.
[AUP is the conference for University Presses, and it convenes once a year.]
At AUP, I guess I realized:
We have our finger on the pulse of discourse, essentially. We're putting books out from these current scholars as they’re innovating and diversifying their fields.
I really like that about university publishing. And, I get to learn, which is nice. It's nice to learn where you work.
KK: That's very poetic, finger—
SR: Thank you.
KK: —on the pulse of discourse. Wow.
SR: Thank you. Thank you. I'm a poet and I didn't know it. Yeah.
KK: So, you've been here for six months—
SR: I know.
KK: —which is weird.
SR: It's bizarre. Yeah, yeah, because I came in September, right?
KK: Yeah, no. You came in August.
SR: Yeah, end of August.
KK: I came in July. You came in August. That's how I keep track of time.
SR: Oh, the people who come in?
KK: The people who come in after me. Anyway, what do you do for fun?
SR: Outside of work, it's a lot of video games—
KK: That's good. That's good.
SR: —and writing. Yeah, I recently started playing Breath of the Wild— Legends of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and that's kind of taking over my life.
KK: Sure. Shameless plug.
SR: If we’re plugging, I listen to BTS all the time outside of work and at work.
KK: And the True-crime podcast.
SR: Morbid, yes.
KK: This is my last question. And it’s a question I think I asked you, like, last week. But what are you currently reading?
SR: I'm currently reading Memorial by Bryan Washington.
KK: No way.
SR: Who would have thunk it? I'm also reading Winter's Orbit, by Everina Maxwell. But yeah, I'm reading Memorial because Bryan Washington is a Houston writer and I'm a Houston writer.
KK: You’ve mentioned this: you want to write about Texas.
SR: I do. It's where I'm from and I feel like it doesn't get a lot of the representation that is accurate.
Especially not Houston. Because when people think of Texas, they think of Dallas. And I don't think Dallas is the pinnacle of the Texas experience; Houston is: it's widely diverse and it's such a great city.
I like to focus on that diversity in my writing a lot, as a setting. I like writing queer characters and how they interact in that setting, because it’s still the south. There are some conservative biases that influence the queer experience in Texas. It’s still loud and proud, but there’s discrimination in the South that paints queer expression in public or even with your conservative family members. That’s what I like to explore in my writing.
It is a very good and interesting article. Congratulations
Posted by: Merdiven Asansörü | February 28, 2023 at 10:46 PM