July 18, 2025

Exploring the North Carolina Coastline: Essential Reads for Beach Enthusiasts

North Carolina’s beaches are more than just scenic getaways—they’re living landscapes rich with history, culture, language, and natural wonder. Whether you’re a coastal resident, a curious traveler, or a lifelong learner, read on to discover titles that will expand your understanding of North Carolina’s coast, from its natural treasures to its human narratives. Seashells of North Carolina, revised and expanded… Continue Reading Exploring the North Carolina Coastline: Essential Reads for Beach Enthusiasts

Categories North Carolina/Reading Lists/Southern
July 15, 2025

New This Week: July 15th

How did white residential developers, planning consultants, and their allies in government strategically replace block-level segregation with segregation at the neighborhood level in New South cities such as Atlanta, Baltimore, Birmingham, Houston, Raleigh, and Winston-Salem? That’s the topic of this week’s new release, Good Parents, Better Homes, and Great Schools: Selling Segregation before the New Deal by Karen Benjamin. Good… Continue Reading New This Week: July 15th

Categories African American Studies/New Books
July 8, 2025

Beyond the Fire: Reclaiming Black Craftsmanship from the Ruins of Nottoway

The following is a guest post by Torren L. Gatson, assistant professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and co-editor of Fighting for Freedom: Black Craftspeople and the Pursuit of Independence which is available now wherever books are sold. The burning of Louisiana’s Nottoway Plantation in May has sparked a wave of reactions across the public… Continue Reading Beyond the Fire: Reclaiming Black Craftsmanship from the Ruins of Nottoway

Categories African American Studies/Guest Bloggers
July 1, 2025

New This Week: July 1st

This week we have two new releases that delve deep into the intersections of race, politics, and personal identity in the American South and beyond. In Proximity to Power: Rethinking Race and Place in Alexandria, Virginia by Krystyn R. Moon examines the history of Alexandria’s African American community from the mid-nineteenth century to the twenty-first century. Meanwhile, Brother Outsider, Brother Insider: A… Continue Reading New This Week: July 1st

Categories UNC Press News
June 17, 2025

New This Week: June 17th

Today we’re spotlighting three powerful new releases that illuminate the complexities of American history through the lens of activism, identity, and intellectual legacy. From the labor struggles of the Midwest to the revolutionary voices of the Civil Rights era, and the life of a towering Black radical thinker, these books offer essential insights for readers seeking to understand the past—and… Continue Reading New This Week: June 17th

Categories New Books
June 16, 2025

Protest, Immigration, and Civic Action Reading List

As protests like No Kings continue to unfold across the country, they serve as powerful reminders of the long-standing struggles for justice, equity, and civic participation. In response to this moment, we’ve curated a reading list that explores the themes of protest, immigration, and civic action—offering historical context and critical insight into the forces shaping today’s movements. From the border… Continue Reading Protest, Immigration, and Civic Action Reading List

Categories Reading Lists
June 16, 2025

Ancestry.com and the Long Civil War 

The following is a guest post by James Marten, professor of history emeritus at Marquette University and author of The Sixth Wisconsin and the Long Civil War: The Biography of a Regiment which is available now wherever books are sold. George Johnson survived the Civil War—but just barely. Enlisting in the Sixth Wisconsin in the summer of 1861 and rising… Continue Reading Ancestry.com and the Long Civil War 

Categories Civil War/Guest Bloggers
June 3, 2025

New This Week: June 3rd

This week we have two exciting new titles publishing. Something to Do with Power by David Tyroler Romine traces the life and legacy of Julian Mayfield, illuminating his pivotal yet underrecognized role in Black radical thought and activism across the mid-20th century & A Common Grave by Susan Juster provides the first comprehensive look at the lived experience of Catholics—whether Irish,… Continue Reading New This Week: June 3rd

Categories African American Studies/New Books/Religion
May 27, 2025

New This Week: May 27th

It’s Tuesday and we have a dynamic collection of new titles hitting the shelves! From the gripping biography of a self-emancipated man who shaped his own legend, to deep dives into housing justice, punk rebellion, and Black political power, these books explore the intersections of race, class, culture, and resistance across American history and society. Learn more about these new… Continue Reading New This Week: May 27th

Categories New Books
May 20, 2025

New This Week: May 20th

This week, we’re excited to release three thought-provoking new books that illuminate the complexities of belief, language, and identity in contemporary life. In Secular Sensibilities, Susan Friend Harding explores how secularism shapes moral and political discourse in the American South, offering a fresh lens on cultural transformation. Language and Life on Ocracoke by Walt Wolfram and Jeffrey Reaser captures the rich linguistic heritage… Continue Reading New This Week: May 20th

Categories New Books/North Carolina/Religion
May 15, 2025

Reading About Writing

The following is a guest post by Michael Amoruso, assistant professor of religious studies at Occidental College and author of Moved by the Dead: Haunting and Devotion in São Paulo, Brazil which is now available wherever books are sold. I had a hard time writing Moved by the Dead. This probably comes as no surprise. There’s a quote, often misattributed to… Continue Reading Reading About Writing

Categories Guest Bloggers/Religion
May 14, 2025

Secularization on Pause? Ambiguity in American Religious Life

The following is a guest post by Zaid Adhami, associate professor of religion at Williams College and author of Dilemmas of Authenticity: The American Muslim Crisis of Faith, publishing next week. “America’s secularization is on pause,” proclaimed the New York Time’s Lauren Jackson in a piece published last month inaugurating a yearlong project titled, “Believing.” The monthly newsletter is meant to probe the… Continue Reading Secularization on Pause? Ambiguity in American Religious Life

Categories Religion
May 13, 2025

New This Week: May 13th

Another week, another pub day full of exciting new titles. Deborah Mutnick’s No Race, No Country offers a profound reevaluation of Richard Wright’s literary and political legacy. Brett Taubman’s Southern Culture on the Fizz is a delightful guide to the rich tradition of fermentation in the American South. Lastly, Cold War Asia, edited by Hajimu Masuda, presents a groundbreaking anthology that explores the multifaceted experiences… Continue Reading New This Week: May 13th

Categories New Books
May 6, 2025

New This Week: May 6th

This week’s new books explore topics on violence in sports and American Colonialism in Cuba and the Philippines. Learn more about the two new books publishing today below or explore everything new this month on our Hot Off the Press page. The Work of Empire: War, Occupation, and the Making of American Colonialism in Cuba and the Philippines by Justin… Continue Reading New This Week: May 6th

Categories New Books
April 24, 2025

Same-Sex Romance and the Retreat from Reconstruction

The following is a guest post from Andrew Donnelly, assistant professor of English at the University of Memphis and author of Confederate Sympathies: Same-Sex Romance, Disunion, and Reunion in the Civil War Era, which is now available wherever books are sold.   The national retreat from Reconstruction—the abandonment, especially by white Northerners, in the face of white Southern resistance, of the… Continue Reading Same-Sex Romance and the Retreat from Reconstruction

Categories Civil War/Gender Studies/Guest Bloggers/LGBT Studies
April 23, 2025

A Celebration of William E. Leuchtenburg, and Introducing the Leuchtenburg Fund

The Leuchtenburg Family Welcomes You to a Public Celebration of William E. Leuchtenburg, 1922-2025Sunday, May 4, 2025, 3:00 p.m.National Humanities Center 7 Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC Established in 2025 by his family, the William E. Leuchtenburg Fund at the University of North Carolina Press honors Bill’s decade-long membership on the Press’s Board of Governors and his preeminent scholarship… Continue Reading A Celebration of William E. Leuchtenburg, and Introducing the Leuchtenburg Fund

Categories UNC Press News
April 17, 2025

Welcome Caroline Mort, Open Access Journals Managing Editor

The University of North Carolina Press is pleased to announce the hiring of Caroline Mort to the newly created position of Open Access Journals Managing Editor. Mort served most recently in the Library Copyright Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and will report to Journals Manager Stacy Lavin. In her new position, she will play a… Continue Reading Welcome Caroline Mort, Open Access Journals Managing Editor

Categories Journals/Open Access/UNC Press News
April 15, 2025

New This Week: April 15th

New week, New books! In this post we’re highlighting this week’s new releases on subjects such as African American Studies, Civil War, Religion, Native American/Indigenous Studies, and Mushrooms. If you see a title that interests you, save 30% with code 01UNCP30 during our American History Sale. A Field Guide to Mushrooms of the Carolinas, Revised and Expanded Edition by Alan… Continue Reading New This Week: April 15th

Categories New Books
April 10, 2025

News from UNC Press: Retirement of Senior Executive Editor Mark Simpson-Vos

I’m writing today to announce that after nearly three decades of service to the university press community, Mark Simpson-Vos will be retiring this summer from UNC Press.  There’s not enough space here to capture the wide range of contributions Mark has made as an editor, mentor, and leader. As an editor, his range had almost no limits. He acquired countless… Continue Reading News from UNC Press: Retirement of Senior Executive Editor Mark Simpson-Vos

Categories UNC Press News
April 8, 2025

New This Week: April 8th

It’s Tuesday and you know what that means: new books! With three new books on Civil War history and a revised and expanded edition of a Tar Heel essential, you’ll want to keep scrolling to check out today’s new releases. Plus, our American History Sale is going on now which means you can save 30% on these titles, or any… Continue Reading New This Week: April 8th

Categories Civil War/New Books