Preserving Stories with Care: Julie Kanta on Publishing, Legacy, and Creative Purpose
By Nylah Winchester, senior English major
May 29, 2026
Pictured above: Julie Kanta photographed by Traci Buck
Julie’s journey into publishing began during her time at SOU, where she studied both English and Emerging Media and Digital Arts (EMDA). Her 2014 capstone project—inspired by professors Dr. Bill Gholson, Bobby Arellano, and Dr. Ed Batistella—combined memoir, visual storytelling, and design: “I had written an essay for Bill’s rhetoric class about my Danish heritage, as my mother is from there, which earned me the Hermann Schmeling award for nonfiction writing. My capstone was called ‘Living Legacy’ and combined my mother’s stories from Denmark along with some of her scrapbook pages, which I digitized and restored.”
“When I went through the Portland State University (PSU) program, I was glad to have learned what I did from those [SOU] classes: technical writing, digital storytelling, rhetoric, advanced grammar, and more.”
– Julie Kanta
Over time, Julie realized her passion for preserving personal narratives could become something larger; she wanted to “create a service that would help people like [her mother], who had many visual and narrative stories to tell.” After collaborating with former 91ֿtrack and field coach Dan Bulkley on his memoir, My Century in Motion, and publishing her mother’s memoir, American Ice Cream in 2020, she began envisioning a future in publishing: “I began to realize I had something valuable I could start offering to people—but I didn’t know enough about book publishing.” This realization led her to pursue graduate studies at PSU so that she could “formalize [her] education and confidently launch [her] publishing imprint.”
Completing a master’s degree while balancing work and family responsibilities was not always easy. Julie commuted between Grants Pass and Portland while continuing work on memoir projects and maintaining her creative business: “During school, I was also working on We Gambled Our Future for Maria Cristina Page. That was particularly challenging because I had her blessing to take my time on the project, but I never like feeling behind on anything, so we pushed the publication date for it several times.” Julie maintains that what kept her motivated was “knowing that everything [she] was learning was leading [her] towards providing even better services to [her] authors.” She also credits her husband, classmates, and creative community for supporting her through the process.
Pictured Above: Julie Kanta holding American Ice Cream
Today, Plumb Creative Books reflects the full range of Julie’s creative interests. While legacy memoir remains central to her work, the imprint also includes poetry, children’s books, and role-playing game publications. Julie explains, “When I looked back over all the book-related work I have done over the years, I realized that legacy memoir wasn’t the only thing I love to do.” Her background in English and digital arts continues to shape her approach to publishing, particularly her emphasis on collaboration and design: “Those two programs really reinforced what I was best at: writing and design. I was able to rely on [technical writing, grammar, and other skills] when I didn’t know what I was doing with publishing a book and essentially had to learn on my own.”
Julie believes personal narratives deserve the same level of respect often reserved for celebrity memoirs or publications from prestigious publication houses: “I believe that personal histories are valuable, priceless even, because they are unique, even if they might be about something that’s been told before, like the Cuban Missile Crisis, or sailing into Ellis Island. People who have physical media to preserve and personal stories to tell deserve to have them done so in the highest level of quality service available, just like any celebrity who gets a Big 5 book deal.”
A recent project that has been especially meaningful to Julie is We Gambled Our Future, a cross-cultural memoir by Maria Cristina Page. The memoir follows Maria Cristina’s life from Bolivia to the United States and explores themes of ambition, sacrifice, migration, and love. Julie was unsure about taking on Maria Cristina’s project because Julie was still in the PSU program, but after meeting with Maria Cristina, Julie was “immediately drawn to the story” because of Maria Cristina’s determination and independence. “Maria Cristina’s story of being such an independent and educated South American woman, along with her journey with her husband Bill, was one [Julie] wanted to be a part of, and one [she] felt was worth preserving.”
Julie describes her editorial, designer, and publisher work as collaborative, especially with Maria Cristina, since “Maria Cristina has a background in design and had very specific ideas of how she wanted the book to look.” Creative roles, as Julie explains, have always been the area she enjoys most. She finds that she has more control over the quality of the finished project.
One moment from the manuscript stayed with Julie in particular: Maria Cristina leaving home to pursue her studies in architecture in Medellín. Julie felt how influential this moment was: “The courage and tenacity it took for her to do [that] was powerful to me. In addition, Julie and Maria Cristina chose to mirror Maria Cristina’s courage when she decided to leave for Los Angeles again to start a life with her husband, Bill. “Maria Cristina chose to gamble on love rather than take a position in Paris to further her career. She’s an incredibly brave woman.”
Pictured Above: Copy of We Gambled Our Future
Julie encourages students interested in publishing or the creative industries to remain open to learning and community building: “Never stop learning. There are always workshops, conferences, or even university programs that will teach you what you need to know, and it’s never too late to learn something new, either—I finished my undergrad at 32 and my master’s at 43.” In addition, she advises students to never underestimate the value of connections because “your teachers and your community are resources that will help you find work and grow your business. Stay connected with your alma mater!”
“My hope is to continue preserving legacy memoirs as a certified hybrid publisher, and put more inspiring stories into the world.”
– Julie Kanta
Looking ahead, Julie hopes to expand Plumb Creative Books and continue helping authors preserve meaningful stories for future generations. Alongside new memoir projects, including another collaboration with her mother, she remains focused on publishing stories that inspire connection and remembrance. If anyone is interested in purchasing a copy of We Gambled Our Future, it is available now on the .
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By Nylah Winchester, English Major
Nylah Winchester, this year’s English Program blog-writer, recounts her eventful summer vacation and details what she is excited about for the fall term. Nylah then introduces Emma Pearl Williams and Emily Jennings, two incoming English students, who are just as thrilled for their upcoming experiences.
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