We publish books. We read and write about books. We blog, tweet, and share news about books. At the University Press of Florida, we’re proud of the fantastic work we publish—about 90 books a year—on an incredibly wide variety of topics. We’ve got history; archaeology; anthropology; Latin American studies; literature; aerospace technology and history; sports; gardening; cooking; photography; travel; and—of course—books about our sunny, swampy, much-loved, very real state of Florida.
But in our excitement over announcing great books, sending them into the world, and tracking their journeys and successes, we often neglect to mention our staff who make the books possible. Today we’re giving you a glimpse at what goes on behind the scenes every day here at the University Press of Florida. You’ll meet many of the people who help guide the work of our talented authors from first draft to finished book. We’ve even thrown in some classic vintage snapshots that we just couldn’t resist. Take a look at the press in pictures!
First, we’d like to present an outstanding line-up of press directors:
For almost 70 years, UPF staff members have acquired, edited, designed, and promoted great books. Take a quick look back at some scenes from UPF’s past:
Did you know that we have puppies at the press? Our office manager, Cindy Laukert, raises guide dog puppies for Southeastern Guide Dogs, Inc.—and a big part of any future guide dog’s education is learning to help out at work!
Cindy has also rescued a few abandoned baby squirrels and birds, restoring them to health at UPF.
We also have a master gardener in residence! Nevil Parker, project editor for the press, makes sure our front porch is always surrounded by beautiful and healthy Florida native plants.
Now it’s time to see how a great idea becomes a book. Welcome to a typical meeting of our acquisitions department! Two of our acquisitions editors work at large, from Connecticut and Oregon. Here’s how they commute to meetings and discuss exciting projects soon to be acquired by UPF:
Our editorial, design, and production department ensures that books are error-free and beautiful.
Dennis Lloyd, deputy director for sales, marketing, and acquisitions, helps UPF books find their way to bookstores and shops across the country and around the world.
Our publicity team meets often to work on promoting UPF books. Here, they’re planning how to spread the word about our new books coming in spring 2015!
Meanwhile, metadata manager Ale Gasso deftly maneuvers through spreadsheets to get the crucial details about our books out into the world.
And we love our interns! They are indispensable. In every department at UPF, student interns get a feel for what book publishing is like, and they provide tremendous help with our 2,500 books in print. Sometimes, they even come back to visit.
Where do we keep all those books, you ask? How do we send them out to readers everywhere? We are immensely grateful for a big warehouse and an excellent, efficient Orders Department—so grateful that we hold our yearly staff Thanksgiving meal at the warehouse! Here we are, eating mashed potatoes among boxes and boxes of words, chapters, and stories.
We’re thankful for good books and great people.
And sometimes we have to say goodbye to great people, but their legacies remain in every book they helped print, in every intern who has turned into a staff member or gone out and braved the world of publishing on their own, in the authors we also hope to call friends, and, now, permanently, here.
The Florida Bookshelf 
Way to go UPF! Looks like a great place to work.
Thanks for sharing these photos. (~Jessica Pellien)