In today’s stop on the University Press Week Blog Tour (November 12-17), our Director of Sales and Marketing, Jane Kelly, discusses the many neighbourhoods that constitute and define the city of Toronto, and how UTP publishes for and about those neighbourhoods as part of its mission. An excellent contribution for today’s theme of #TurnItUP: The Neighbourhood.
By Jane Kelly
Earlier this year the UTP Book Publishing group moved to a new location in Toronto. After almost 30 years in the same office, we moved to a brand new high tech open concept office space in downtown Toronto. As a new employee and a suburbanite, this was my first time working downtown and this move gave me the opportunity to explore and learn more about the city.
Toronto is known by many different nicknames: The Big Smoke, T Dot, The Six. It is the biggest city in Canada and is the financial centre of Canada. However, it is not a cosmopolitan city, it is a city of neighbourhoods. The Toronto Star recently published a listing of 170 unique neighbourhoods identified by their geographic boundaries, history, or unique population. A ten-minute walk from our new office location can take you to Yorkville, the Kensington Market, the Annex, or the financial district. Walk a little more and you can tour the entertainment district, Little Italy, or the Distillery District.
UTP recognizes these diverse neighbourhoods by publishing titles that celebrate the cultures, people, and politics of Toronto’s neighbourhoods. Toronto Iberic and Toronto Italian Studies Series give a voice to scholarship and research for these populations. Individual books like Kensington Market by Na Li focus exclusively on well-known Toronto neighbourhoods. UTP also publishes many books focused on important issues that affect individuals in these neighbourhoods like racism, poverty, the environment, and education. Our recent publication, Queering Urban Justice, examines how to map space in ways that address very real histories of displacement and erasure.
As I discover Toronto, I also learn more about the thousands of books from the UTP list. After a short 9 months with the book publishing team, I am so impressed with my coworkers’ dedication to the mission of the organization “to publish exemplary works of scholarship, and to disseminate knowledge widely for the benefit of society.”
In Canada, research shows that loneliness is reaching epidemic levels and one in five people suffer from loneliness, the effects of which can be as damaging as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Social media technology designed to bring people together could be contributing to increased feelings of loneliness. People need to connect with others and find a community. Perhaps by giving a voice to Toronto neighbourhoods, UTP can help people be more connected.
To continue on Day Three of the University Press Week Blog Tour, check out posts by these other fine university presses:
University of Manitoba Press
Blog: https://uofmpress.ca/blog
Twitter: @umanitobapress
Syracuse University Press
Blog: https://syracusepress.wordpress.com/
Twitter: @SUPress
Fordham University Press
Blog: www.fordhampress.com/blog
Twitter: @FordhamPress
Northwestern University Press
Blog: https://incidentalnoyes.com/
Twitter: @northwesternUP
University Press of Mississippi
Blog: http://upmississippi.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @upmiss
Temple University Press
Blog: https://templepress.wordpress.com/
Twitter: @TempleUnivPress
University of Alberta Press
Blog: https://holeinthebucket.wordpress.com/
Twitter: @UAlbertaPress
University of Texas Press
Blog: http://utpressnews.blogspot.com
Twitter: @UTexasPress
University of Washington Press
Blog: https://uwpressblog.com/
Twitter: @UWAPress
Johns Hopkins University Press
Blog: https://www.press.jhu.edu/news/blog
Twitter: @JHUPress
University of Illinois Press
Blog: https://www.press.uillinois.edu/wordpress/
Twitter: @IllinoisPress
Rutgers University Press
Blog: https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/category/news/
Twitter: @RutgersUPress
Oregon State University Press
Blog: http://osupress.oregonstate.edu/blog
Twitter: @OSUPress
Columbia University Press
Blog: cupblog.org
Twitter: @ColumbiaUP
University of Georgia Press
Blog: ugapress.wordpress.com
Twitter: @UGAPress
