Prepress

Océ Future Authors Unveil Fourth Book, So You Think You Can Write?

Thursday 15. October 2009 - Miranda Vogt is only 12 years old, but she already feels like she's been an influence on the world. The seventh grader at Bak Middle School in West Palm Beach recently became a published author as a participant in the fourth annual Océ Future Authors Project program. Miranda, along with 49 other District of Palm Beach County middle and high school students, had their original writings published in a book they dubbed, So, You Think You Can Write?

The book was compiled by Océ North America Production Printing Systems division and digitally published using the company’s digital book factory printing equipment. The book was unveiled at a book signing event held recently at the City of Boca Raton Spanish River Public Library. More than 150 students, parents and school officials attended the event.


Sheryl Pattek, vice president of marketing services for Océ North America Production Printing Systems Division, and author Dwight Stewart with Future Authors, (l to r) Miranda Vogt, a student at Bak Middle School of the Arts; and Shivangi Narain and Eric Teller from Don Estridge High Tech Middle School

“Being published makes me feel powerful,” said Miranda, who was hesitant to attend the summer writing workshop at first. “I didn’t want to spend my summer at school, but it turned out to be anything but school. It was a great experience, and I enjoyed spending time with kids who have the same interest in writing.”

Océ North America’s Boca Raton-based Production Printing Systems division is a creator and sponsor of the program, which includes a free eight-day writing workshop held in the summer. A partnership between the School District of Palm Beach County and Océ North America, the 2009 Océ Future Authors Project program was made possible with generous grants from the Lawrence Sanders Foundation, BankAtlantic Foundation and Xplor International, a non-profit educational and networking organization serving users and suppliers of document technologies. During the workshop, the students learned about writing, editing, and digital book publishing. Certified teachers provided instruction, with additional insight provided by Océ executives and published authors, Jonathon King, Sally Ling and Dwight Stewart.

Shivangi Narain, who is in eighth grade at Don Estridge Middle School in Boca Raton, also enjoyed the summer workshop and was thrilled to see her name in print. “It was really fun,” she said. “We put a lot of hard work into this book and learned how important it is to write and rewrite. When I went back to look at draft one of about five, I couldn’t believe it was the same piece.”

Spanish River High senior, Brianna Bachus, echoed the value of writing reviews. “I like having my work critiqued,” she said. “The teachers pushed us to be our best.” Brianna is currently working on her first novel and plans to attend Florida Atlantic University next year.

One Future Author participant drove all the way from South Carolina to be at the book signing. Christina Pacilli, a former eighth grader at Tradewinds Middle School, recently moved with her family to Erma, South Carolina. “This is such a wonderful program,” said her mom, Mary. “We are donating copies of the book to the school and public libraries in our new town.”

Boca Raton Mayor Susan Whelchel, who spoke at the book signing, said that it really does take a village to raise a child and that public-private partnerships like this one are invaluable. “Our most important people are our youth,” she said. “They are our future, and partnerships like this provide opportunities to help them grow.”

Sheryl Pattek, Vice President of Marketing Services for Océ North America Production Printing Systems division, said the program began as a way for the company give back to the community, help ignite a love of writing in students and increase the awareness of the impact digital printing is having on the publishing world.

“Digital printing now allows more authors to self publish and for books to be printed on demand in quantities as small as one,” she explained.

Most important, she added, “Programs like the Océ Future Authors are essential in today’s world of cutbacks. If we can motivate a few students to pursue careers in writing or to fuel a love of writing in our Future Authors, we’re helping to make the world a better place for all of us.”

Dr. Constance Tuman-Rugg, assistant superintendent for K-12 curriculum, thanked Océ for making the Future Authors program possible. “During a time when most companies are cutting back and telling community groups ‘no,’ they continued to support the program and created a book that’s the best one yet,” she said at the book signing. “Partnerships like this are more vital today than ever.”

Digital printing has changed the business model at every point in the value chain, as book manufacturers, publishers, retailers and even end users benefit from reduced costs and faster turnaround. More than half of the top 20 digital book manufacturers rely on Océ digital print solutions as part of their publishing platforms.