It’s an occasion to celebrate some big wins for the student-staffed university press at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Dozens of writers and student staff of Cornerstone Press spend all year immersed in the editing and creative process of book publishing. The press now publishes between 45 and 50 titles yearly in creative nonfiction, short fiction and poetry. Their shared goal is for their books to delight readers and give a voice to authors from across the U.S.
This year, some of the university’s newest titles have been honored with national literary recognition for being among the best works over the past year. Awards announcements began in May and culminated in late June with the prestigious Midwest Book Awards, honoring independent publishing from across 12 states. Judges are booksellers, university staff and librarians who are subject matter experts.
In the category of Short Story/ Anthology Category, Heidi Bell’s 2024 story collection, “Signs of the Imminent Apocalypse and Other Stories,” was awarded a silver medal. “The Machine We Trust” by Tim Conrad, an assistant professor of English at Michigan State University, earned the gold medal. It was the first published book collection for Conrad. Titled for an included story focused on a man determined to learn how to beat a polygraph machine, he said, many of the stories in “The Machine We Trust” had lived with him for years.
“The book allowed me to see the stories shaped together. It allowed for something cohesive to take shape, thematically,” said Conrad. “The level of intention and care at the press is on par with commercial presses.”
For about two months last fall, UWSP alumna Eva Nielsen and her co-editor Ellie Atkinson worked through edits and helped Conrad produce a book with characters who have unique coming of age stories. Each with an epiphany. Nielsen said there is tragic humor and playful writing styles throughout the book.
“I enjoy when authors get to play around the style,” she said. “A lot of the stories really spoke to me. The stories feel raw and relatable to anyone. He captures what it means to be human and growing up, going through changes.”
Choosing Cornerstone Press to publish his work was based on its regional focus, as champions of Midwestern writers, Conrad said. Cornerstone’s mission as a teaching press also aligned perfectly with Conrad’s own passion for being a teacher of future writers.
“As pleased as I was for my own work to be recognized, I was as excited for the validation it provides for those students working with all the writers,” he said.
Conrad was receptive to the student suggestions, Nielsen said. The partnership between authors and staff is a true collaboration that gives the students experience in every aspect of book publishing. She valued the role she played as an editor in a deeply meaningful, now award-winning project.
“We are thrilled to receive multiple medals at this year’s awards. Our talented students continue to showcase the impact of an education in the humanities at UWSP,” said press publisher Ross Tangedal, who is also an associate professor of English at the university.
For Bell, the chance to work with budding editors at Cornerstone Press feels like a full circle moment. She works as a professional copy editor. She had even contributed blurbs for fellow Cornerstone author book releases.
Many of her stories in “Signs of the Imminent Apocalypse and Other Stories,” Bell said, have had the benefit of time. She began some as a creative writing student in college. Bell invited the feedback on her draft and said the process helped her identify more closely after being on the author side of editing.
“Everyone is working toward the same goal of wanting the book to be better,” Bell said. “I couldn’t be happier with the way it turned out.”
In addition to the silver medal at Midwest Book Awards, Bell was named a Short Stories category finalist in the 19th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards (NIEA) announced in June. Fellow NIEA finalist author Colleen Alles from Cornerstone Press was recognized for her book, “Close to a Flame.” In good company, yet another title by Rob Davidson, “Welcome Back to the World: A Novella & Stories,” was named the winner of the Short Stories category! The awards for small to mid-sized presses have been held since 2005.
Other Cornerstone Press titles are among the awardees in the 2025 Independent Publisher Book (IPPY) Awards, open to small, independent publishers world-wide. The IPPY was founded in 1996, and its awards cover a wide range of genres. In another first, Caitlin Cowan’s debut poetry collection, “Happy Everything,” received a silver book medal, as a runner-up in the IPPY Awards Poetry-Standard Category. Additionally, “What We Might Become” by Sara Reish Desmond was second runner-up in the Short Story-Fiction Category, earning a bronze medal.
The awards season news began with the spring announcement of Eric Hoffer Book Awards. Cornerstone was among the honorees named in May. Caitlin Cowan was named a finalist for the Medal Provocateur, given to “the best on the frontier of poetry.”
“Seeing the success we have had on this year’s awards circuit brings me great joy and validation,” Tangedal added. “The press has come so far so fast, and I am proud to continue leading Cornerstone Press to new heights. Awards, glowing trade reviews in major publications like The New York Times, Booklist and Foreword Reviews, a consistently professional and engaged student staff: it has been a banner year at Cornerstone, and we are proud to be part of the UWSP community.”
Staff will begin the 2025-26 academic year with the demands of a busy workload and the challenges of getting manuscripts ready for print. Through the editing process, another batch of books will find their audiences, and just maybe, more awards.