Marc Christensen
Editor, Writer, and Art Director in Victoria, BC, Canada
I'm the manager of publications and internal communications (editor of the Ring newspaper, etc.) for the University of Victoria. On my off hours, I'm the editor and publisher of Emdash Books, a small literary press in Victoria. Before coming to UVic in 2007, I taught college and university English, specializing in writing for publication. I'm also a member of AIGA and the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada.
Literary publishing. 2006 was the "beginning of the long dash" for Emdash Books, a small independent publisher of literary fiction, poetry, and topical nonfiction. We have published about a dozen titles including memoirs, short fiction collections, full-length poetry manuscripts and small poetry chapbooks as well as difficult-to-shelve books like Alan Cassels' ABCs of Disease Mongering — a humorous illustrated policy primer set to verse. Small but striking chapbooks are a house specialty.
University print standards and production. I'm responsible for a suite of publications that represent UVic, internal communications channels, and publication standards that maintain brand consistency and professionalism for the university. I also support departments and units across campus as they develop their own print materials, and maintain the UVic Style Guide.
Poetry. My poetry has largely appeared in journals beginning with the names of US states, including the Minnesota Review, the Pennsylvania Review and the Michigan Chronicle, and won awards including the Academy of American Poets' John Clare Prize. I'm a member of the Malahat Review advisory board, and have written poetry reviews for The Globe and Mail and for alternative newsweeklies like Victoria's Monday Magazine and the Detroit Metro Times. Contemporary touchstones on my reading list include Lorenzo Thomas, Gloria Frym, Fanny Howe, Juliana Spahr, and Ron Padgett, but my pet peeve is that books of poetry sometimes go too long on library shelves without being read. Gesundheit.
Personal. As a former academic and part of the UVic Speakers Bureau, I give talks to university classes and community audiences on the economics of Canadian publishing, making and breaking the narrative of urban decline in Detroit, and other topics. Like house and techno music. Because that's what I dance and think to.