Signum University Press is the publishing branch of the Signum University family tree.

As an inventive, flexible new publisher, Signum UP aligns with the University’s mission of exceptional, accessible, and affordable scholarship. Through experimentation with dynamic modern technologies, state-of-the-art delivery mechanisms, and a commitment to the long heritage of editorial excellence, Signum UP will offer a rich catalog of engaging works in a variety of media and formats.

Now Available

Exploring the Lord of the Rings – Volume I
A translucent white rectangle near the top of this cover declares the title, Exploring Beowulf. A thin red line just inside the edge of that rectangle further defines the shape. The Signum Press eagle hunting with talons out before the sun, rendered as simple black line and white figures, decorates the top left corner of this rectangle. The bottom of the cover has a red rectangle reaching to the left, bottom, and right edges with white words declaring “Audio Series by Prof. Michael D. C. Drout, PhD.” Above this red rectangle is a beautiful drawing of three weapons on a worn and well-oiled leather surface. We see, lying on the leather diagonally from lower left toward upper right, the broad tip of a spear, the blade of a sword, and the hilt of another sword. The metal of the spear tip and the sword is pattern-welded: the master weaponsmith folded and re-folded this metal over and over for strength and resilience. The distinctive folding lines of the metal suggests Beowulf’s own wægsweord (line 1489a), a wave-sword. The hilt could be a European Migration Period sword with a well-oiled simple crossguard and a pommel which bears some simple, striking grooves decorating the bell-curve shape. The tang is covered by a grip of something light-colored—it could be bleached leather or even bone—secured by bronze flanges decorated by tiny dots along their grip edges and tiny triangles with crosses inside along the edges toward the crossguard and pommel. The grip itself is absolutely beautiful, bearing a red-inked sun symbol (a circle with an inner eight-pointed star, from which extend four pairs of rays in four cardinal directions) and a dark blue-inked Valknut (a tricursal knot of three interlinked triangles). These are not show pieces. The light grip of the hilt shows wear and smudges of old dirt, although the weapons are clearly well cared for.
Exploring Beowulf
A translucent white banner with deckle edges reads “A Waiter Made of Glass: Stories and Poems.” A smaller similar banner shares the name of our author, Verlyn Flieger. The scene behind and between these banners has been painted of a charming old world downtown street at sundown. The sky is gold and salmon blending to a soft middle blue above. The street is clean, with tall buildings side-by-side. They look like businesses below with residences above. Warm indoor light streams out of rectangular windows and arched doorways which spills across the flagstone sidewalks and warmly colored street surface. A lovely spired building in the background suggests a stone church at the end of the street. No people, not pedestrian, nor shopkeeper, nor even a person peeping out of a window can be seen. At the center of this eerily quiet scene stands a wooden round pedestal table with four red upholstered spindle-legged chairs. The table is laid for four with triangularly-folded white napkins and a spoon at each place. Who is expected at this silent meal, and by whom? The artist’s signature, E. Austin, is written small in the bottom left corner.
A Waiter Made of Glass: Stories and Poems
An ominous cover with a long Gothic corridor, mist, statues, ravens, and an astronaut.
Shall These Bones Breathe?
A gorgeous and delicate watercolor of a brown cedar flower in the center, surrounded by pointy green leaves and golden-lined branches.
The Flower of the Cedar
The cover art is a broken Greek statue.
Fallible Aesthetics
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Forthcoming

The title Channeling King Arthur Through the Mediums: Essays from Signum University Students is printed on a white translucent rectangle in the lower third of the cover. The rectangle is further defined by a slender purple line near the border. At the bottom is a purple rectangle extending to the left, bottom, and right edges declaring in white text that the work is Edited by Sørina Higgins. The illustration for the cover, which seems painted, is a scene with roiling purple storm clouds in a sunset-golden sky. In the foreground we see a moss-covered stone about 80 centimeters high and the same width at its base, although it narrows a bit and seems to point upward. The stone is either at the top of a rise of land or perhaps is a bit of bedrock itself, dislocated into an upward thrust by ancient tectonic upheaval. A figure of legend centers this picture, King Arthur himself. He is crowned with a golden circlet bearing ruby and aquamarine cabuchons with sapphire peaks. His hair is red-blond and both his hair and his moutaches show curls. His beard, however, belies his entry into middle age with some white whiskers. Arthur’s face shows a grimace which suggests shouting anger. His majesty’s red cloak streams away to the left, indicating the direction of the wind. He is dressed in blue with a scale mail shirt and gold-decoated greaves. Below his extended arm, we can see a simple serifed cross on a necklace and a broad belt which has a pocket for his cell phone and a charging-scabbard for his light saber. The saber itself glows blue and strikes sparks against the stone. But Arthur is not drawing the sword out: he has not positioned himself above the sword to lift mightily nor has he engaged his upper body in that motion. His arms are extended, both hands grip the minimally decorated light saber hilt, and the sword points downward slightly toward Arthur’s foot. The king, already crowned and mature, is not pulling the sword from the stone, but striking downward, cutting into the stone. Is he destroying a source of evil? Is he marking a place to honor the fallen? Is King Arthur laser-blasting a hiding place for his sword in the very bones of the land—to wait, hidden by leaves and dirt and time, unregarded, until Excalibur and the rightwise born sovereign of Britain are needed again?

Channeling King Arthur through the Mediums

Signum University Press

Serial release beginning in June 2023

More Information Coming Soon!

The Silmarillion Primer

Jeff LaSala
Eagle and Dragon

Release date: to be announced


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How to Learn How to Think: What the Liberal Arts are Good For, Anyway

Prof. Michael D.C. Drout
Eagle & Dragon

Release date: Coming in 2023

Join the Author’s Circle

Cardinal Vices in Middle-Earth

Martina Juričková
Signum University Press

Learn More About This Title

A New Way of Publishing

The Signum University Press aims to produce excellent, accessible, and affordable scholarship, popular works, and original literary creations through a variety of media:
Three stacked books
Book
Cell phone and headphone
Audiobook
an e-reader
E-book
A pile of periodicals
Serial Release
Through the innovative technology of Blackberry (a membership, subscription, and e-commerce platform developed by Eldarion), the Press will offer streamlined purchase options, subscription packages, and membership benefits. Added perks will include early access to content, unique author experiences, and more.

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