This past Saturday Wilmington, North Carolina, dedicated a new memorial to the victims of the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898. The memorial site includes an installation of six 16-foot-high bronze paddles created by sculptor Ayokunle Odeleye.
Today, November 10, is the 110th anniversary of the event. Ten years ago, UNC Press published Democracy Betrayed: The Wilmington [...]

This weekend is the 25th annual Lexington Barbecue Festival!  Hit the road and head on down to Lexington, North Carolina, “the barbecue capital of the world,” for food, fun, and entertainment. Exhibits open at 8:30 a.m. Barbecue tents open at 10:00 a.m.
Our very own Will McKinney, coauthor of Holy Smoke: The Big Book of [...]

Grab your oyster knives and crab crackers! This weekend, Morehead City will be hosting the 22nd Annual North Carolina Seafood Festival. Friday through Sunday, October 3-5, locals and out-of-towners can enjoy all the Crystal Coast has to offer. Events include the Outer Banks Boat Show, cooking demonstrations by renowned chefs, live music, rides, an open [...]

When Hurricane Katrina moved northwest through the Gulf of Mexico, hitting the Gulf Coast of the US in late August of 2005 I had only the briefest of connections to the city: my parents had attended a convention there in the late 60s, a friend I had grown up with lived there with his [...]

As an editor at UNC Press, my professional rhythms are mostly dictated by the academic calendar. So with colleges and most public school systems in North Carolina quickly getting back to business, I often have to remind myself that summer is still going strong. And the great news for those of you who aren’t bound [...]

Temperatures here in the Raleigh and Chapel Hill area have been climbing steadily over the past weeks, settling into the mid-to-upper 90s. It’s not hard to find people willing to complain about the heat and the humidity and how awful it is outside. When I hear such talk I just smile and nod [...]

Don’t worry, just because I had another post this morning doesn’t mean I forgot that this is Thursday, the highly anticipated day of the weekend roadtrip post! Fear not, dear Tar Heel roadtrippers, we’ve got a special “oke”-alicious lineup for this last segment of our Beach Book Grab Bag series. We’re featuring two Outer Banks [...]

Continuing with our Beach Book Grab Bag series, this
week we are all about creative nonfiction based on the North Carolina coast. One from Hatteras, one covering all the Outer Banks, and three from the sound side, after the jump.

As I was driving to work this morning and listening to NPR, WUNC’s Leoneda Inge was reporting from the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where locals are eager to draw more visitors now. (Forget what I said before about it being too late to plan a trip! It’s not too late!) The economies of beach [...]

Keeping with the coastal Carolina theme of the past couple of weekend roadtrips, this week’s suggestions get you in the kitchen and on the move. Guides for preparing seafood, bird watching, and visiting historic architecture after the jump…

Continuing the Beach Book Grab Bag series that began last week, this week’s picks are all about things that go splash in the night. North Carolina’s coastline slips into some treacherous waters — making them a perfect hunting spot for the pirates of yore who preyed on stranded ships. Six books with some spine-tingling tales [...]

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program. Chances are, if you don’t already have a beach trip lined up this summer and you plan a road trip now, you’ll probably have to camp out in a tent or in your car, because North Carolina beaches are awesome and everyone wants to go and they [...]

Sunday’s Raleigh News & Observer began a four-part series on the development of North Carolina’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail, which stretches from the Smoky Mountains to coastal dunes. UNC Press has published the only comprehensive hiking guide to this 900+ mile trail, written by Allen de Hart, who has been hiking, designing, constructing, maintaining, and writing about [...]

Once a week the UNC Press blog will feature a tantalizing and adventuresome “Weekend Roadtrip” to a place featured in a UNC Press book. We’ll post them on Thursdays, so there’s still time to make last-minute weekend plans if you feel inspired. Mountains, Piedmont, Coast; hiking, birding, swimming, playing, learning; half-day trips, weekend [...]