Students in the Editing and Publishing Practicum courses explore the theory and practice of book production.

They’re happy for the unique experience, says Cristina Matteis, who notes that other programs are aimed at graduate study and focus on abstract concepts: “We really get the advantage of working with a time constriction and with physical products.”

The two courses span seven months and engage students in preparing a book for publication by literary publisher Black Moss Press, founded by the course instructor, Marty Gervais.  They edit manuscripts, working with the authors, design, and market the finished books.

This year’s class will launch two poetry anthologies: What Time Can’t Touch and Where the Map Begins.

Meg Mooney, like Matteis a member of the team responsible for marketing the Amherstburg-inspired What Time Can’t Touch, says that although students can take just one of the courses, they are motivated to complete both.

“A lot of students who graduated after the first course have come back or kept in contact to continue working with and supporting the team,” Mooney says.

Christian Wilkinson, a marketing representative for Where the Map Begins, a ward-by-ward introduction to Windsor, agrees.

“There’s so much emotional and mental work put in to only go halfway,” she says. “Everyone on the editing team has had a chance to sit with the work and has had the ability to see the experience from a reader’s perspective, and now we can translate those skills to the specific lens of supporting authors and publishers.”

The three students list skills that transfer to any field, from an understanding of contracts to advertising, visual arts, technical writing, event planning, education, and more.

This year’s two publications will be launched at a reception at Mackenzie Hall on Tuesday, April 2. To learn more about the teams and follow their journey, check out the What Time Can’t Touch and Where the Map Begins Instagram feeds.