First Piedmont Publishing Symposium held in Spartanburg, SC

June 16, 2025 | by uscpress

In May 2025, University of South Carolina Press collaborated with a group of South Carolina and Georgia organizations to host the first Piedmont Publishing Symposium at Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC. Seventy-three writers, publishing professionals, students, and recent graduates attended the event to learn more about book publishing and connect with others in the publishing community.

The regional conference, held over a day and a half, offered two tracks. Track one included sessions for aspiring authors including on how to write a proposal, how to find the right publisher for their book, and key marketing and publicity strategies for books. Track two offered sessions for scholars and publishers to explore topics on open access, the state of book selling, and publishing careers. Two USC Press staff members, Ehren Foley, acquisitions editor, and Cathy Esposito, marketing and sales director, presented sessions. The conference also featured a timely keynote address by linguist Elliot Casal, University of Memphis, who discussed ethical considerations for generative AI.

Read the full summary by Dawn Durante, Wyndham Robertson Editorial Director at University of North Carolina Press.