Since 2015, Multnomah County Library has been soliciting submissions of self-published e-books from the community. Initially titles were just adult fiction, but have since expanded to memoirs, children’s and teen books. Unlike physical books, which an author could donate to the library, e-books have to be available in OverDrive, the library’s primary e-book vendor. The Library Writers Project offers a path for local authors to get their e-books into OverDrive and the library collection.
Authors publish their work on one of the self-publishing platforms that sells its content on OverDrive (Kobo Writing Life or Draft2Digital). Then they fill out a submission form to let us know about it. Each submission is reviewed by two library staff members and rated based on artistic merit, technical readability, and the likelihood of recommending it to patrons. The titles that receive the highest ratings are added to the e-book collection in OverDrive and Libby.
Throughout the last few years of submission rounds, the library has added over 150 titles to the collection. These have been checked out more than 23,000 times via OverDrive and Libby. In addition to featuring each year’s selections as a collection, we also feature one title a month that was the best-liked by staff reviewers.
In 2018, the library signed an agreement with Ooligan Press where they would publish in print one of the e-books. As part of this agreement, Ooligan Press would also market and promote the winning book. Additionally, the library would buy copies of the book to promote online and inside library locations with displays.
“Without this program through the Multnomah County Library my book would still be sitting at home in a binder somewhere. This program helps bridge the gap between enthusiastic writers and willing readers. The reception to my work has been extremely validating, and I'm exceptionally grateful for this opportunity.” - Katie Grindeland, author The Gifts We Keep
The Library Writers Project titles that Ooligan has published so far are:
- The Gifts We Keep by Katie Grindeland
- Iditarod Nights by Cindy Hiday (an Indies Award finalist!)
- Finding the Vein by Jennifer Hanlon Wilde (2022 Lambda Literary Award finalist in LGBTQ Mystery)
- Court of Venom by Kristin Burchell
The next Library Writers Project selection, The Blue Line Letters by Steven Christiansen, is publishing in April 2025.
This year, we will be accepting submissions in English, Spanish and Vietnamese. The submission period is open October 1 through 31, 2024.