BusinessReport.com

Full name: MaryKatherine Callaway

Title: Director

Company: LSU Press

Age: 50

Hometown: Atlanta

Why do you do what you do?

Quite simply, I have the best job in the world as director of a fine university press like LSUP–great authors, a wonderful group of colleagues, and the thrill of being part of fulfilling a powerful mission.

What is your greatest professional accomplishment?

Publishing a distinguished list of award-winning regional, scholarly, and trade books. Everything we do at the Press we do as part of a team, so all my accomplishments have been as part of a larger whole, and that is more rewarding than anything you might accomplish on your own.

What was your first job?

When I was 12, I began babysitting–every weekend and all through the summers. At 16, I simply had to do something else, so I found a “real” job at the local Winn-Dixie and worked as a cashier. I learned a lot on that job, both about working with people and about how to buy groceries.

What is the best advice you've ever received?

To interview for the LSU job.

Who do you most admire in the local business community and why?

Les Phillabaum, the director emeritus of the Press. He created an amazing legacy, both with the books he acquired and the ways in which he managed to move the Press forward with very limited budgets.

If you could have any job other than your own, what would it be?

This is the best job.

What is the greatest personal or professional obstacle you've overcome?

Every day we overcome the difficulty of publishing scholarly books in a tough economic environment. We proudly uphold our mission to educate and inform, putting the intellectual value of a book above its potential to generate income, but it does mean we have to find creative ways to support publications. Many people do not realize that the income from such books often does not cover the costs to produce them, and we look for grants, subsidies, and generous donors to bridge the gap. Without such support, many worthy and important books would never have been published.

If you started over, what would you do differently?

I honestly can’t imagine.

What is your prescription for life?

Read more.

What book are you currently reading?

In the run-up to this weekend’s elections, it seemed a good time to re-read Wayne Parent’s Inside the Carnival: Unmasking Louisiana Politics. He traces the history of Louisiana’s political system and lays out why and how the state has this system--a lot to explain but he does it very well.

If you could have dinner with any three living people, who would they be?

I would truly enjoy dining with some our authors who I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting: Gordon Rhea, who’s one of the best writers about the Civil War and whose In the Footsteps of Grant and Lee comes out this fall; John Fulton, who wrote the amazing fiction collection The Animal Girl; and David Kirby, who just been announced as a finalist for the National Book Award for Poetry this year for The House on Boulevard St.

Who would play you in a movie?

Wouldn’t it be lovely to imagine Meryl Streep or Jessica Lange pining for the role, but the reality would likely be someone quite different.

What do you do to unwind?

Read, of course.

What is the most expensive purchase you've made for yourself?

I collect first editions of Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White.

What is your favorite weekend activity?

Um, reading.

What's your theme song?

Long ago, when my husband and I first met, he wooed me by setting one of my favorite poems, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T. S. Eliot, to music. I still sing that poem, 30 years later.

What's your favorite spot in Baton Rouge?

Cottonwood Books– the perfect place to relax and browse without pressure. And Danny Plaisance probably knows more about books than anyone else in town.

How do you take your coffee/tea?

Both by the carafe! Publishing is pretty intense, and my days are long. It takes a certain amount of caffeine to get through.

What is your favorite movie? TV show? Band?

Not much time for movies or TV, but my favorite band without a doubt is Zenbilly, my husband’s band, the best original band in Baton Rouge.

What is your favorite gadget?

The mini-booklight–it’s great to be able to read at night without disturbing a sleeping spouse.

What is something that you can't live without?

Books, books, books. Stacked on my bedside table, piled up around my office, spilling out of my bookshelves. I guess I’m a confirmed bibliophile—and that’s one reason why I was pulled toward this business in the first place.

If you could change one thing about Baton Rouge, what would it be?

Well, better synchronization of the traffic lights would be nice. Luckily, the Press staff has a deep and wide-ranging knowledge–including "best sneaky routes through Baton Rouge"–and they've given me lots of light-avoiding routes.

What is your greatest hope for Baton Rouge?

That it continues to build on its current vibrant cultural life—and finds widespread support for its symphonies, art museums, opera company, and literary events like the LA Book Festival, Readers and Writers, and the opportunities we provide to meet our authors at signings, talks, and other events.

What is your greatest fear for Baton Rouge?

Barring natural disasters, I don’t have any fears for BR. I think it’s an exciting city with a great future.