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From Unquestioned Obedience to Disintegrating Abeyance: Children’s Toys and U.S.’s Racial Order in the Late 19th Century

The following guest blog post by Mahshid Mayar, author of Citizens and Rulers of the World: The American Child and the Cartographic Pedagogies of Empire, is an edited version of an essay originally published under the title “Verbs of Violence 19th-Century Jigsaw Puzzles, Otherness, and American Childhood” in the Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth, and is reproduced… Continue Reading From Unquestioned Obedience to Disintegrating Abeyance: Children’s Toys and U.S.’s Racial Order in the Late 19th Century

In Memoriam: Lindley S. Butler

We are saddened by the news that Lindley S. Butler died April 12, 2022, after a period of declining health. UNC Press was able to provide Butler with advance copies of his final book, A History of North Carolina in the Proprietary Era, 1629-1729 (on sale 5/17/22), in recent weeks, and he was able to celebrate its arrival with his… Continue Reading In Memoriam: Lindley S. Butler

The Territories of Elaine Maisner

Executive editor Elaine Maisner retired earlier this month after 28 years working at UNC Press. The following guest blog post is by Laurent Dubois, John L. Nau III Bicentennial Professor in the History & Principles of Democracy and Director for Academic Affairs of the Democracy Initiative at the University of Virginia. Dubois is also the author of A Colony of… Continue Reading The Territories of Elaine Maisner

George Moses Horton, the Black Bard of North Carolina

Happy National Poetry Month! For our centennial year, we are highlighting iconic publications from our past, including today’s excerpted poem taken from The Black Bard of North Carolina: George Moses Horton and His Poetry, edited by Joan R. Sherman, which collects sixty-two of Horton’s poems. Enslaved from birth until the close of the Civil War, the self-taught Horton was the first… Continue Reading George Moses Horton, the Black Bard of North Carolina

Richard Strand’s Play, “Ben Butler”

The following is a guest blog post by Elizabeth D. Leonard, author of Benjamin Franklin Butler: A Noisy, Fearless Life. Benjamin Franklin Butler was one of the most important and controversial military and political leaders of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. Remembered most often for his uncompromising administration of the Federal occupation of New Orleans during the war, Butler reemerges… Continue Reading Richard Strand’s Play, “Ben Butler”

Happy Endings: A Century of Inspiring Art and Scholarship at UNC Press

Guest blog post written on the occasion of UNC Press’s centennial year by Steve Estes, author of I Am a Man!: Race, Manhood, and the Civil Rights Movement, Ask and Tell: Gay and Lesbian Veterans Speak Out, Charleston in Black and White: Race and Power in the South after the Civil Rights Movement, and the forthcoming Surfing the South: The… Continue Reading Happy Endings: A Century of Inspiring Art and Scholarship at UNC Press

How Civil War Financial Agents Sold the World on the Union

The following is an excerpt taken from Bonds of War: How Civil War Financial Agents Sold the World on the Union by David K. Thomson, which demonstrates how Europe, and ultimately all corners of the globe, grew deeply interdependent on American finance during, and in the immediate aftermath of, the American Civil War.  More than any other financial instrument, the… Continue Reading How Civil War Financial Agents Sold the World on the Union

UNC Libraries Off The Shelf: Author Talk with Anne Gray Fischer

Anne Gray Fischer recently discussed her new book, The Streets Belong to Us: Sex, Race, and Police Power from Segregation to Gentrification, as part of the UNC Libraries-UNC Press author speaker series, Off the Shelf. Watch the archived virtual conversation: Fischer is a historian of the twentieth-century United States. Her research and teaching explores histories of gender, sexuality, and race; law… Continue Reading UNC Libraries Off The Shelf: Author Talk with Anne Gray Fischer

Berkley Hudson discusses “O.N. Pruitt’s Possum Town: Photographing Trouble and Resilience in the American South” at Flyleaf Books

Watch the archived presentation given by Berkeley Hudson on his recently released book published in partnership between Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University and UNC Press, O.N. Pruitt’s Possum Town: Photographing Trouble and Resilience in the American South, held on March 31st, 2022 at Chapel Hill, North Carolina’s Flyleaf Books. The New York Times Book Review proclaimed that “O.N.… Continue Reading Berkley Hudson discusses “O.N. Pruitt’s Possum Town: Photographing Trouble and Resilience in the American South” at Flyleaf Books

North Carolina Extension Gardener Handbook: Second Edition, Available Now

Distributed by UNC Press for the NC State Extension, the national award winning North Carolina Extension Gardener Handbook by Kathleen A. Moore and Lucy K. Bradley is available now in a new second edition. Developed especially for Master Gardener volunteers and home gardeners, the book is a primary source for research-based information on gardening and landscaping successfully in North Carolina… Continue Reading North Carolina Extension Gardener Handbook: Second Edition, Available Now

In Appreciation of Elaine Maisner: Kathleen Purvis

Executive editor Elaine Maisner retired last week after 28 years working at UNC Press. The following guest blog post is by Kathleen Purvis, award-winning food writer, food editor for the Charlotte Observer, and the author of three UNC Press books: Distilling the South, Bourbon, and Pecans._________________________________________________________________________________________ Elaine Maisner is a literary ninja. A stealth fighter jet of editors. You’ll never… Continue Reading In Appreciation of Elaine Maisner: Kathleen Purvis

Together: The Amazing Story of Carolina Basketball’s 2021-2022 Season, Coming Fall 2022!

PRE-ORDER AVAILABLE NOWPublished in partnership with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Department of Athletics, featuring 150 color images, on sale November 2022: The definitive source on this year’s UNC Basketball team, Together: The Amazing Story of Carolina Basketball’s 2021-2022 Season by Adam Lucas, Steve Kirschner, and Matt Bowers, with a foreword by Hubert Davis, offers a behind-the-scenes… Continue Reading Together: The Amazing Story of Carolina Basketball’s 2021-2022 Season, Coming Fall 2022!

“Pauli Murray: A Personal and Political Life” Selected for NCH’s 2022 NC Reads Book Club

Pauli Murray: A Personal and Political Life by Troy R. Saxby has been selected for North Carolina Reads, the North Carolina Humanities statewide book club for 2022 that features five books that explore issues of racial, social, and gender equality and the history and culture of the state. “All five books pose critical questions about how North Carolinians view their role in helping… Continue Reading “Pauli Murray: A Personal and Political Life” Selected for NCH’s 2022 NC Reads Book Club

An NCAA/College Basketball Reading List (Go Heels!)

If you’d like to do some reading up on past North Carolina Tar Heels seasons and successes, as well as learn about the history of the NCAA and college hoops in general, we offer you a curated baskeball reading list (plus take 40% off at checkout with promo code 01DAH40; valid for print books only). And: GO HEELS! Carolina Basketball:… Continue Reading An NCAA/College Basketball Reading List (Go Heels!)

Happy Retirement to Executive Editor Elaine Maisner!

After a stellar publishing career of more than 35 years, including almost 28 at UNC Press, our beloved colleague and executive editor Elaine Maisner has decided the time is right to take a well-deserved retirement. Elaine first entered into university press publishing by working at Yale University Press, serving in several roles in acquisitions, administration, and contracts and rights management. She joined the UNC… Continue Reading Happy Retirement to Executive Editor Elaine Maisner!

Women’s History Month 2022 Reading List (Curated by Ann Bingham)

Happy Women’s History Month! In celebration of this historical month, we’ll be sharing reading lists curated by our staff featuring all authors who identify as women. Today we’re sharing a list from our Exhibits and Awards Manager Ann Bingham. Click here to see the previously shared lists and learn more about how Women’s History Month came about. If you’re interested in purchasing any of… Continue Reading Women’s History Month 2022 Reading List (Curated by Ann Bingham)

Colin Powell’s funeral was a missed opportunity for the country

The following is a guest blog post by Sarah J. Purcell, author of Spectacle of Grief: Public Funerals and Memory in the Civil War Era, reposted from the Washington Post. This illuminating book examines how the public funerals of major figures from the Civil War era shaped public memories of the war and allowed a diverse set of people to contribute to changing… Continue Reading Colin Powell’s funeral was a missed opportunity for the country

Reciprocity Runs in Riddims

The following is a guest blog post by Larisa Kingston Mann, author of Rude Citizenship: Jamaican Popular Music, Copyright, and the Reverberations of Colonial Power. In this deep dive into the Jamaican music world filled with the voices of creators, producers, and consumers, Larisa Kingston Mann—DJ, media law expert, and ethnographer—identifies how a culture of collaboration lies at the heart… Continue Reading Reciprocity Runs in Riddims

New Editorial Roles for Mark Simpson-Vos and Debbie Gershenowitz

As UNC Press launches its new acquisitions strategy in its centennial year, effective April 1, 2022, two senior members of the Press’s editorial team are taking on new roles to align oversight of key lists with the Press’s strategic priorities. Editorial Director Mark Simpson-Vos will substantially shift his focus, taking over responsibility for the Press’s prestigious list of general-interest and… Continue Reading New Editorial Roles for Mark Simpson-Vos and Debbie Gershenowitz

Three Promotions for the UNC Press Acquisitions Team

As part of an ambitious strategic growth plan to commence its second century of excellence in university press publishing, UNC Press is delighted to announce three promotions to editor for current members of the Press’s acquisitions team: Andrew Winters, Andreína Fernández, and María García. Andrew Winters joined the Press in 2017 and was most recently associate editor. Prior to joining… Continue Reading Three Promotions for the UNC Press Acquisitions Team