Sierra College Press
The Sierra College Press is one of the very few academic presses operated by a community college in the United States.
The Sierra College Press was formed in 2002 to publish Standing Guard: Telling our Stories as part of the Standing Guard Project’s examination of Japanese-American Internment during World War II.
Building upon that foundation, the Sierra College Press expanded its role and function to become a wide-ranging academic press and information outlet.
Today, we publish books and two eJournals, Snowy Range Reflections and the Journal of the Sierra College Natural History Museum.
The mission of the Sierra College Press is to inform and inspire scholars, students, and general readers by disseminating ideas, knowledge, and academic scholarship of value concerning the Sierra Nevada region. The Sierra College Press endeavors to reach beyond the library, laboratory, and classroom to promote and examine this unique geography.
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Dr. Terry Beers
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Dr. Patric Ettinger
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Tom Killion
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Tom Knudson
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Gary Kurutz
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Scott Lankford
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John Muir Laws
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Beverly Lewis
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Malcolm Margolin
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Mark McLaughin
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Kim Stanley Robinson
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Jesika Maria Ross
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Michael Sanford
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Lee Stetson
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Catherine Stifter
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René Yung
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Board of Directors
- Rebecca Bocchicchio, Associate Dean, Sierra College Liberal Arts Division
- Sean Booth, Professor of Geography
- Keely Carroll, Professor of Biological Sciences, Sierra College
- Kerrie Cassidy, Graphics Manager and Designer, Sierra College
- Mandy Davies, Vice President, Student Services, Sierra College
- Daniel DeFoe, Professor of History and Communications Studies, Sierra College
- David Dickson, retired Sierra College Professor of English and German; President of the Sierra College Friends of the Library
- Tom Fillebrown, Chair, Applied Arts and Design Department, Sierra College
- Christine Freeman, retired online educational specialist
- Rebecca Gregg, Professor Emeritus, Photography
- Brian Haley, retired Dean of the LRC/Library, Sierra College
- Rick Heide, Community member, award-winning author, Co-Editor of The Illuminated Landscape
- Jay Hester, Professor of History and President of SCFA, Sierra College
- David Kuchera, Professor of History
- Joe Medeiros, Editor-in-Chief of Sierra College Press, Professor of Biological Sciences Emeritus, Sierra College; Illustrator and Contributor to The Illuminated Landscape
- Lynn Medeiros, Interim Dean, Liberal Arts
- Sue Michaels, Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Sierra College
- Gary Noy, retired, former Editor-in-Chief of Sierra College Press; former Director of Sierra College Center for Sierra Nevada Studies; Co-Editor of The Illuminated Landscape
- Bart O'Brien, retired superintendent of the Placer Union High School District
- Sabrina Pape, Dean of the LRC/Library, Sierra College
- Mike Price, retired Sierra College Webmaster
- Jennifer Skillen, Professor, Biological Sciences, Sierra College
- Barbara Vineyard, Former President and member, Sierra College Board of Trustees; former Sierra College student
- Lynette Vrooman, Professor of English, Sierra College Nevada County Campus
- Randy White, retired educator, Publisher Blue Oak Press
Sierra College Press entered into a multi-year, multi-book publishing partnership with Heyday Books in 2012.
The mission of the Heyday-Sierra College Press Publishing Partnership is to produce quality books with unique and thought-provoking perspectives that examine and celebrate Sierra Nevada history, culture, science, and public policy. The works published by this partnership will strive to inspire, entertain, inform
The Heyday-Sierra College Press Publishing Partnership:
- Works with and strengthens Sierra Nevada scholars, institutions and organizations that are striving to protect, preserve and improve the future well-being and good health of the region
- Develops new artists and authors with a goal of preserving the memories, achievements
and traditions of past generations - Introduces young people, students, visitors and newcomers to the extraordinary Sierra Nevada story
- Builds upon the reputation of Sierra College, the Sierra College Press and Heyday for scholarship and outreach to help nurture a more informed Sierra Nevada community
- Promotes discussion of important issues facing the Sierra Nevada both today and in the future
Under the renewable agreement, Sierra College provides $75,000 to produce at least three books within a five year period.
The partnership was approved by the Sierra College Board of Trustees in honor of retiring College Trustee Barbara Vineyard, in recognition of her 28 years of extraordinary service to Sierra College.
About Heyday Books
Heyday Books is an independent, nonprofit publisher and unique cultural institution. They promote widespread awareness and celebration of California's many cultures, landscapes, and boundary-breaking ideas. Through their well-crafted books, public events, and innovative outreach programs they have built a vibrant community of readers, writers, and thinkers.
Heyday was founded by Malcolm Margolin in 1974 when he wrote, typeset, designed, and distributed The East Bay Out, a quirky, personal, affectionate guide to the natural history of the hills and
The Journal of the Sierra College Natural History Museum
Provides information about Sierra College’s extraordinary Natural History Museum and the natural history of our region and world.
- v1n1: Wonders of the Natural History Museum.
- v1n2: The Sierra Nevada and the conservation movement it inspired.
- v2n1: Nature and history along the Interstate 80 corridor.
- v2n2: Evolutionary theory on the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth.
- v3n1: Ways in which various organisms fly.
- v3n2: How we use science in our decision making.
- v4n1: The celebration of Sierra College's 75 years by giving a history of field trips at Sierra College.
- v4n2: Directory of museums of the Sierra Nevada
- v5n1: Natural History Museum lecture series
- v5n2: Six on the Sierra: Rock Stars. Audio lectures relating to the geology of the Sierra Nevada.
- v6n1: Women in Nature: A Gallery of Influential and Pioneering Female Naturalists
- v6n2: State symbols related to the Sierra Nevada
Snowy Range Reflections: The Journal of Sierra Nevada History and Biography
Examines the fascinating history and characters of what John Muir called “The Range of Light.”
- v1n1: The Range of Light itself: earth, fire, water, and wind.
- v1n3: Education and entertainment are entwined in an issue devoted to entertainment, Gold Country style.
- v2n1: Explores the rugged romance and the harsh reality of the California gold fields.
- v2n2: The highways and byways, buildings and bridges that connect all of us who live in the shadow of the “Range of Light.”
- v3n1: Alonzo Delano: nomad denizen of the world
- v3n2: For your reading and listening pleasure a small sampling of the prose and poetry to be found and enjoyed in The Illuminated Landscape.
- v4n1: The celebration of Sierra College's 75 years by providing a few examples of the inspiring history, and, especially, people who contributed to the history of the Sierra College.
- v4n2: On the Sierra Nevada: Women writers of the 19th Century—presents the writings of fourteen 19th century women writing on their experiences in, and opinions of, the Sierra Nevada region.
- v5n1: Seventeen little-known figures from Sierra Nevada history
- v5n2: Six on the Sierra: Authors. Audio lectures on authors writing about the Sierra Nevada.
- v6n1: Hetch Hetchy Restored?
- v6n2: Mark McLaughlin: Sierra Nevada Weather and Cultural Historian
The following books were published by Sierra College Press or in collaboration with Heyday Books.
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California GlaciersPhotographs and text by Tim PalmerAbout the Book |
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Gold Rush Stories: 49 Tales of Seekers, Scoundrels, Loss and LuckBy Gary Noy About the Book |
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The Illuminated LandscapeEdited by Gary Noy and Rick Heide About the Book The essays, poetry, and stories presented in The Illuminated Landscape encompass the entire Sierra Nevada experience. With the power of the written word to inspire, energize, and challenge, this anthology shines a light on what is at risk for the Sierra Nevada today and reinforces the importance of sustaining its beauty and ecological diversity.
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King Sequoia: The Tree That Inspired a Nation, Created Our National Park System, and Changed the Way We Think About NatureBy William C. Tweed About the Book From a towering tree, one of California’s preeminent naturalists unspools a history that echoes across generations and continents. Former park ranger William C. Tweed takes readers on a tour of the Big Trees in a narrative that travels deep into the Sierras, around the West, and all the way to New Zealand; and in doing so he explores the American public’s evolving relationship with sequoias. Featuring an entrancing cast of adventurers, researchers, politicians, and environmentalists, King Sequoia reveals how one tree species has transformed Americans’ connection to the natural world. |
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Sierra StoriesBy Gary Noy The Sierra Nevada, with its 14,000-foot granite mountains, crystalline lakes, conifer forests, and hidden valleys, has long been the domain of dreams, attracting the heroic and the delusional, the best of humanity and the worst. Stories abound, and characters emerge so outlandish and outrageous that they have to be real. Could the human imagination have invented someone like Eliza Gilbert? Born in Limerick, Ireland, in 1818, she transformed herself into Lola Montez, born in Seville, Spain, in 1823, and brought to the Gold Country the provocative “Spider Dance”—impersonating a young woman repelling a legion of angry spiders under her petticoats. Or multimillionaire George Whittell Jr., who was frequently spotted driving around Lake Tahoe in a luxurious convertible with his pet lion in the front seat. These, and scores more, spill out of the pages of this well-illustrated and lively tribute to the Sierra. |
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Tahoe Beneath the SurfaceBy Scott Lankford About the Book Lake Tahoe transformed America, and not just once but many times over—from the earliest Ice Age civilizations to the mysterious death of Marilyn Monroe. It even played a hidden role in the American conquest of California, the launch of the Republican Party, and the birth of John Steinbeck’s first novel. Along the way, Lake Tahoe found the time to invent the ski industry, spark the sexual revolution, and win countless Academy Awards. Tahoe beneath the Surface brings this hidden history of America’s largest mountain lake to life through the stories of its most celebrated residents and visitors over the last ten thousand years. |
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Standing Guard: Telling Our StoriesEdited by Dr. Debra Sutphen and Lynn Medeiros, Sierra College history professors About the Book Standing Guard: Telling Our Stories is a collection of oral histories from survivors of the internment camps, Japanese American veterans, and Placer County residents, recounting their experiences during the time. |
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Sierra Foothills Nature Guide: A Guide to Biology and Ecology of the Sierra College Nature Trail (Fourth Edition)Edited and updated by Shawna Martinez, Sierra College Professor of Biological Sciences along with colleagues and students About the Book As knowledge of the Nature Trail area has expanded, the guide has grown as well. This edition features the flora and fauna one can see while exploring Sierra College’s nature trail and much of the Sierra foothills. The newest edition of the guide is beautifully illustrated and includes detailed drawings and descriptions of plants, mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians common to the foothill regions of California. |
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Sierra Stories/Gold Rush Stories/Hellacious CaliforniaWritten by Gary Kurutz About the Book Lured by boons of gold and other exploitable resources, California’s settler population mushroomed under Mexican and early American control, and this period of rapid transformation gave rise to a freewheeling culture best epitomized by its entertainments. Hellacious California tours the rambunctious and occasionally appalling amusements of the Golden State: gambling, gun duels, knife fights, gracious dining and gluttony, prostitution, fandangos, cigars, con artistry, and the demon drink. Historian Gary Noy unearths myriad primary sources, many of which have never before been published, to spin his true tall tales that are by turns humorous and horrifying. |
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Sierra Wildflowers: A Hiker's GuideWritten and illustrated by John Muir Laws About the Book From sprawling fields of showy hillside poppies, lupines, and paintbrushes in the foothills to orchids, lilies, and primroses in the higher meadows of our national parks, the Sierra Nevada is one of the premier wildflower destinations in California. Naturalist John Muir Laws has adapted his painted-from-life flower illustrations from The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada into a lightweight yet durable guidebook to the area's florae. Sierra Wildflowers includes the most common species that you will encounter, with fully updated common and scientific names. Flowers are organized by color and shape, making identification easy for flower enthusiasts of all experience levels. |