In February, three-time UW–Madison graduate Michael T. Braun (’06, ’11, ’13) filled out an Alumni Spotlight survey for the English department, highlighting how humanities programs provide training in clear and structured writing, persuasive interpretation, and coalition building that enable “fun work” to produce the “best work.”
Michael T. Braun
“I don’t know where my career will take me next, but I know that the skills I learned as an English student will guide me,” Braun said with a mixture of vulnerability and pride.
Now, just months later, Braun’s speculation about his professional future has become a happy reality. On July 1, Braun was named the new owner and editor-in-chief of Orange Hat Publishing, a renowned independent book publisher based in Waukesha, Wisconsin. In 13 years of dedicated leadership, founder Shannon Ishizaki built OHP into a company that has published nearly 600 books by more than 400 authors. Braun and Ishizaki felt independently called to new careers and made connections after working together on a few previous publishing projects. Within weeks of jointly mapping out new horizons for Orange Hat Publishing, they had a transition plan ready.
Braun found his way back into the literary world in a circuitous way. After earning a BA in English in 2006 and working briefly in technical services at Epic Systems, he returned to UW–Madison to pursue an MA and PhD in communication studies in the Department of Communication Arts under the supervision of Professor Lyn Van Swol. Braun then spent 10 years working in a variety of areas, including academic research and publishing, program management, and teaching. He views this jump into indie publishing as a fortunate and welcome opportunity to combine his analytical and creative skills in a team-oriented role as a director, helping to bring writers’ ideas to life.
Orange Hat Publishing has its roots in children’s literature and has grown into a local heavyweight producing books of all genres. Thanks to Ishizaki’s expertise and Braun’s entrepreneurial spirit, this change in ownership coincides with a period of deliberate, renewed connections between the editors, designers and authors involved. Accordingly, OHP received more than 70 book proposals for the July review period, including children’s books, middle-grade novels, young adult fiction, adult fiction and nonfiction. Braun and OHP are off to a busy start.
His goals for leading the organization into a new era include expanding Orange Hat Publishing to offer developmental writing and editing coaching services, increased marketing support (with a focus on social media), and a focus on hybrid contracts that give authors more autonomy on their projects. In this new chapter of growth for OHP and its associated imprint Ten16 Press, Braun will strive to maintain the company’s core value: inviting authors to “boldly own their authentic voice” when they come to Orange Hat Publishing.
Braun noted in his UW digital alumni profile that he wasn’t necessarily thinking about career decisions when he chose his undergraduate degree in English. Rather, he was drawn to the major out of sheer enthusiasm for courses that involved “reading, talking, and writing with experts about fascinating books.” Armed with more than a decade of professional experience in a variety of fields that found him constantly and deeply thinking about how words communicate ideas, Braun now returns to a daily life surrounded by books as owner and editor-in-chief of OHP.
This partnership is a bright spot that more closely connects the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the English Department to the literary arts community in Wisconsin, and Braun has been quick to express his interest in introducing UW students to the publishing world through experiential learning opportunities at OHP later this year. In the meantime, as he begins his tenure at OHP, Braun’s thoughtful statement encouraging University of Wisconsin English students to look broadly and soak up the joys of interpretive possibilities is an important testament to the humanities’ continued potential for the publishing workplace and beyond.
