Community publishing project in the works by North Powder Library

NORTH POWDER – The North Powder Library, with the help of some very dedicated community volunteers, is developing a project to publish home-grown art and literature. Recently proposed to, and approved, by the Library Board, the North Powder Library Book Anthologies Project is an effort to collate and publish short stories, poems, photographs, and artwork created by members of the Union and Baker County communities, showcasing the creativity of Eastern Oregon.

According to community member Debby Schoeningh, herself having written and published books for many years, the project is a way to give back to the community. This way, North Powder’s new library will start off with a new program to involve the community, and residents that practice writing, art, or photography will have a local and accessible method of publishing their works to broader audiences. Put simply by Schoeningh: 

“I’ve been in the publishing industry for a lot of years. I’m just excited for people to get their stories and their outwork out there. I remember the first time I published a book and how excited I was. I want other people to be able to have that opportunity.”

The project, tentatively, will accept submissions of short stories, poetry, art, and photography from Baker and Union County residents to be published as an anthology collection through the Amazon platform, with no upfront cost to authors/artists. Once published, physical copies will be made available for purchase locally. Schoeningh and fellow community member Heather Zickefoose have offered to volunteer their time and expertise to format, edit and publish the anthologies. 

Note that, though approved, the project is still early in development, with various aspects such as theming and the submission process subject to change. One example included in the board proposal is to potentially organize the anthologies by age range, breaking them up into kids (K-6th), teens and young adults, and adult sections, while other suggestions include different groupings by genre, or even having no overarching themes and allowing a mix of topics.

Other ideas include organizing writing clubs for junior authors and tying the project into a library fundraiser. As the project gains traction, the hope is also to expand and add more anthologies each year. Again, however, many of the specific facets are still being developed. 

Longterm, the goals and benefits of the project (as listed in the proposal to the North Powder Library Board) include:

• Community Engagement: A great way to get people involved and excited about sharing their work. 
• Increased Library Activity: Submissions would be dropped off or emailed to the library, encouraging more foot traffic and engagement. 
• Writing Support: The library could offer dedicated times for individuals to come in and work on submissions. 
• Writing Clubs & Workshops: The anthologies could lead to junior and adult writing clubs, or even writing workshops led by local authors. 
• Fundraising: Once published, the books could be sold on Amazon and at the library.  Amazon would pay a small royalty for each book sold. The library could also buy books at printing/shipping cost and resell them at a markup to raise funds. 
• Personal Pride & Gifting: Parents and families would enjoy owning books that feature their children’s work, and adult contributors would also take pride in being published.  These books would make meaningful gifts.

As of the time of writing, submissions are not yet being accepted, though anyone interested in contributing can email the North Powder City Library at npcitylibrary1@gmail.com and ask for more details. Submissions are expected to open once the new North Powder Library building is completed this fall, though a specific date has not been set. Anyone else interested in volunteering to help with the project is welcome to contact the North Powder Library.