PowerUp: Media Training for University Press Authors

Due to the changing time zones, we would like to clarify that this event will take place on November 10 at 11:00 a.m. Alberta Time (UTC-6:00).

10:00 a.m. in British Columbia
11:00 a.m. in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba
12:00 a.m. in Ontario and Québec
1:00 a.m. in Eastern Canada

This year marks the 15th annual University Press Week, a week established by the Association of University Presses to celebrate and raise awareness about university presses and the work they do to advance scholarship. The theme for 2026 is PowerUP, focusing on how publishers amplify author’s voices and support intellectual freedom.

To celebrate UP Week and our commitment to authors, AU Press is collaborating with Serif, an award-winning literary marketing and PR agency, to PowerUp authors by fostering their media skills. Presented by Serif’s Managing Director, Ariel Hudnall, this webinar session will focus on equipping authors with skills to improve media outcomes, from landing pitches and conveying confidence and expertise, to learning how to steer media opportunities toward productive promotion of their work. In this session, authors will learn how to:

• Develop key messages that inspire curiosity and interest;
• Navigate live or pre-written interviews confidently and effectively;
• Identify what kind of media will best align with their strengths;
• Find the widest possible readership for their books;
• Avoid common pitfalls and faux pas;
• Pivot focus, request corrections, and reframe misinformation.

Ariel Hudnall is the Managing Director of Serif, a literary marketing agency specializing in book publicity and advertising, author platform development and storytelling strategy. She holds a Master of Publishing from Simon Fraser University, where she also teaches digital book marketing as an instructor. She is on the board for the Canadian Book Club Awards, and over the last ten years, has worked (or volunteered) in the industry as a beta and slush reader, developmental and acquisitions editor, book designer, advertiser, publicist, and marketing consultant. She lives in the Cariboo region of BC, the ancestral lands of the Nazko, Lhtako Dene, and Carrier-Tŝilhqot’in Peoples.

Athabasca University Press is Canada’s first open access scholarly press. Founded in 2007 with the principal aim of reducing barriers to knowledge and increasing access to scholarship, AU Press is committed to bringing the work of emerging and established scholars to the public. With both open access journal and monograph programs, we make a substantial contribution to a growing body of academic and literary work that is made available to a global readership at no cost to the reader.