We are grateful that the new Acquisitions Editor of the University of Utah Press, Thomas Krause, took time from his busy schedule to answer a few questions for JI! Please make sure to follow the University of Utah Press on social media and check out their stellar Mormon Studies titles.

JI: How did you enter in the field of publishing?

TK: I started in 2010 as an editorial assistant at the University of Oklahoma Press. At the time, I was a first-year graduate student at the University of Oklahoma pursuing a degree in Native American studies. As an editorial assistant, I worked alongside the acquiring editor responsible for signing Native American studies titles, so the job aligned really well with my academic interests. I’ve been in publishing ever since, at the OU Press, the Wisconsin Historical Society Press, and now the University of Utah Press.

JI: Did you work with any Mormon Studies titles at the University of Oklahoma Press? If so, which books?

TK: Yes. I was the acquiring editor for Utah and the American Civil War: The Written Record (2017) by Kenneth L. Alford, and Mountain Meadows Massacre: Collected Legal Papers (2017), a three-volume collection of documents edited by Richard E. Turley Jr., Janiece L. Johnson, and LaJean Purcell Carruth. As an editorial assistant, I worked on a number of Mormon studies titles recently published by the OU Press.

JI: The University of Utah Press has long published award-winning titles in Mormon Studies. What are some topics in Mormon Studies you’d like to see published by the Press in coming years?

I don’t have in mind any specific topic or topics in Mormon studies that I would like to see the University of Utah Press publish in the future. I do know, however, that I want to continue the excellent work started by John Alley and Press director Glenda Cotter. John and Glenda have been instrumental in getting important biographies of historical figures in the Mormon Church into University of Utah Press catalogs, such as Carol Cornwall Madsen’s recent award-winning Emmeline B. Wells: An Intimate History (2017). I would also like to see books that explore the intertwined histories of Utah, the American West, and Mormonism, along with books that analyze important current cultural issues. A forthcoming book on LGBTQ relationships with the LDS Church, Greg Prince’s Gay Rights and the Mormon Church, is a good example. There’s also room on the Mormon studies list for books that take up questions around colonialism, issues related to women, minorities, migration, and extremism, just to name a few instances. In other words, I want to take a broad, lively look at Mormon history and cultural studies.

JI: Edited collections have become less popular in academic publishing, but the University of Utah Press has published several important edited volumes. What are your plans for publishing further collections?

TK: I think it’s unwise to take a firm stance for or against publishing edited collections. While it’s true that in some quarters edited collections have become less popular, in other ways they are still finding great success. At the end of the day, the goal is to acquire books that benefit the communities we serve and credit the mission of the University of Utah Press. Content is more important than form. Anything that helps us achieve our goals, be it a monograph or an edited collection, will be given every due consideration.

JI: If someone is interested in pitching their idea to the University of Utah Press, how would you recommend that they do so?

TK: Please go to our website and follow our submission guidelines regarding book proposals. Information for authors can be found at http://www.uofupress.com/authors.php