Literary Imprint Lookout Books Featured On Cover of UNCW Magazine

Readers of Ecotone magazine and titles from Lookout Books will encounter a familiar sight when they pick up the latest issue of UNCW magazine. The issue’s cover, which shows the spines of several award-winning books published under the university’s Publishing Laboratory, features a comprehensive look at the rise of Lookout Books, the Department of Creative Writing’s unique in-house publishing imprint, which has published seven books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry since its co-founding by faculty member and Lab director Emily Louise Smith in 2009. Turn to pages 24­–25 to read the cover story by editor Jennifer Glatt and current MFA student Caitlin Taylor to find out what distinguishes Lookout, including a closer look at its most recent prizewinning book, We Show What We Have Learned by Clare Beams, and a preview of its new partnership with HarperCollins, which will offer students classes and mentorship by publishers and editors at the publishing giant’s New York City offices.

Lookout grew out of collaboration between UNCW's Publishing Laboratory and Ecotone, the creative writing department’s award-winning national literary magazine. Under faculty leadership, students read and edit manuscripts, design books and collateral materials, develop marketing and publicity strategies, and help plan author book tours.