Have you ever been curious about who makes the handbound books BatCat Press produces? This year, we’ll be introducing you to our four new staff members that work year-round on creating our beautiful journals and publications! We hope you enjoy!
NAME: Dorien
AGE: 17
FAVORITE BOOK: The Prose Edda and The Poetic Edda; norse mythology
FAVORITE AUTHOR: J.K. Rowling
FAVORITE GENRE TO READ: Sci-fi and fantasy
FAVORITE GENRE TO WRITE: Sci-fi, comedy and horror
OTHER INTERESTS: Yoga, drawing, and film.
Dorien is a senior that joined the BatCat staff at the start of this year. They’ve been involved with everything from reading submissions to binding books and even some individual projects. BatCat is a great place to learn skills students may not have the opportunity to learn anywhere else. Like many BatCat staff members, Dorien has taken full advantage of that!
“I love how we can do individual projects,” they said. They’ve been practicing calligraphy in class. Dorien says they’ve recently gotten into calligraphy thanks to the accessibility of the materials in BatCat. They found calligraphy tools that were being used for one of the classes and decided to buy their own set it try it at home. Dorien said they want to get better at it so they can send beautiful letters to pen pals.
They’ve also been very interested in the publication process. Dorien described the publication process at BatCat as a very professional environment. “I think if I wanted to get into working with a press [after high school] I could because I already know a lot.”
Dorien has a lot of interests outside of the writing and publishing field. After high school, they’re interested in becoming a pilot. “If you’re a pilot you get to travel a lot.” They traveled a lot when they were younger. “I’ve been to Costa rica, Hawaii, New York, California, and I lived in Canada for about five years,” they said. Wherever Dorien goes, they say, they’ll be able to take what they’ve learned with them.
Written by Alexa Bocek, BatCat staff member
