Tualatin geologist rewrites the book on the floods that shaped our landscape

PSU professor Scott Burns co-authors a new edition of ‘Cataclysms on the Columbia’

By Ed Johnson

The Times, Nov 12, 2009, Updated Nov 12, 2009

Student publishing

One hurdle in completing the project was decided on a publishing strategy. Timber Press, the book’s previous publisher, had no interest in working on a second edition, says Scott, and the book had long been out of print.

So with the help of co-author and English professor Marjorie Burns, a plan was formed to release the book through Ooligan Press, an arm of PSU’s English department. The press is a “learning laboratory” where graduate students work together with faculty at running a small publishing business. The program has been around since 2001 and seen more than 25 books published under student support.

All of the proceeds from the sale of “Cataclysms,” which retails for $24.95 and is available at Amazon.com, Powell’s and most booksellers, will go toward scholarships in the Geology and English departments.

“It was exciting working with students on this project,” says Scott. “Even if they were tough on deadlines for me.”

Dennis Stovall, the program director for Ooligan, says he thinks “Cataclysms” will be one of the more successful titles released by the press.

“I think it’s going to have a lot of that market as people head off in a car to explore the state,” Stovall says of the book’s appeal to Oregon history buffs.

Stovall also said that he expects the new edition to come back into its own with sales as a textbook for natural science curriculum.

“It was a great project to work on,” Stovall says. “This will help support the press, and it really taught a lot of lessons.”

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