H & H Publishing Co. was established in Texas in 1993 by a mother-daughter duo, Ophelia and Janice. The daughter, Janice Humphrey, had written several small publications and her mother, Ophelia, authored several books written for women and missions in the Baptist church. One day, Janice was describing exciting new things she was doing as the founder of an interpreter program in British Columbia, Ophelia exclaimed, “Jan, you should write a book!” And so, Jan did. H & H Publishing was founded and operated primarily by Ophelia in Amarillo, TX. The first edition of So You Want to be an Interpreter? was written and self-published in 1993, quickly followed by the 2nd edition in 1994, which incorporated suggestions and removed the errors in the first edition. The book, So You Want to be An Interpreter? evolved from more than 30-years of field-based research and classroom instruction. After the death of Ophelia, Jan’s daughter Kristina took over as the office manager and “face” of H & H Publishing, Co. until the expansion into our Dallas, TX home office. Soon after half the company relocated to Ocala, FL, which is currently staffed by three members (see about us for an introduction to all of the H & H Staff).

Bob Alcorn was listed as co-author for the 1st-4th editions, which was how Jan chose to honor and acknowledge him as the person who opened access to the Deaf world and promoted her understanding of Deaf culture and ASL. Bob and Jan made a number of videos, including One, Two, Buckle Your Shoe, a DVD with a printed handbook on the numbering system used in American Sign Language, which features Bob Alcorn as the video instructor. Other videos included The Structure of ASL, parts 1 and 2, and Signing for Sense: Guidelines for Making Visual Sense produced by the Family Network for Deaf Children (Vancouver, BC).

After a long career of teaching interpreting in Texas, Kansas, California, British Columbia, and Washington State, Dr. Humphrey, who is “retired,” continues to interpret, mentor and teach at workshops and special events around the country. The 5th Edition of You Want To Be An Interpreter? (published in 2020), is the most recent and up-to-date rendition of this classic text. This edition of this unique and valuable textbook will extend its use to the next generation of interpreters.

Jan and Bill Ross have several other books on their writing schedule and are looking forward to updating some of the previous H & H textbooks and educational materials, as well as writing several new textbooks. H & H Publishing is also looking forward to printing educational books and materials authored by others outside of our company. See our resources page for published works by other authors.