Category: UNC Press News

Dorothy Spruill Redford on WUNC’s “The State of Things”

In 1860 one of the largest and most successful plantations in North Carolina was Somerset Place. In the course of becoming one of the state’s most prosperous rice, corn, and wheat plantations, the plantation’s owner, Josiah Collins, became one of the largest slaveholders in the state. Somerset Place covered as many as 100,000 acres and was home to more than… Continue Reading Dorothy Spruill Redford on WUNC’s “The State of Things”

UNC Press Awarded Mellon Grant for Indigenous-Studies Series

The University of North Carolina Press is proud to announce that it is part of a $1-Million grant to establish a collaborative publishing program dedicated to indigenous studies. The grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation teams the UNC Press with the University of Arizona Press, the University of Minnesota Press, and Oregon State University Press. Mark Simpson-Vos, an acquisitions… Continue Reading UNC Press Awarded Mellon Grant for Indigenous-Studies Series

The Age of Obama

Things have been a bit on the busy side here at the Press lately. Add in our once-every-three-year dumping of snow and yesterday had all the makings of an ‘interesting’ day. Still, many of our staff took time at lunch to gather in our Boardroom, the largest room in the building, and the only room with a television set, to… Continue Reading The Age of Obama

A Woodwright Considers the Axe

When Popular Woodworking and Woodworking Magazine held their “Woodworking in America” workshop in November 2008 they called upon the one man who all woodworkers could admire and appreciate to deliver the keynote address: star of PBS’s The Woodwright’s Shop and author of our series of “Woodwrights” books, Roy Underhill. For the uninitiated, Roy Underhill is the modern-day woodworking guru for… Continue Reading A Woodwright Considers the Axe

Moving Forward by Looking Back: Enduring Editions

What better way of starting the New Year than by taking a giant step forward? And what better way of taking a giant step forward than by looking backwards? It is in this light that the UNC Press is proud to announce a new series that looks back at the rich history of books published by the UNC Press over… Continue Reading Moving Forward by Looking Back: Enduring Editions

One last holiday wish

Last Friday, UNC Press held its annual holiday luncheon – with a budget-conscious twist: POTLUCK! Each department was asked to contribute a main course, and the rest was willy-nilly. (Except, is it still a potluck if you have a sign-up sheet? How about if you plead, “Please! No more desserts!”) We were overflowing with sweets, but not at the expense… Continue Reading One last holiday wish

105th Anniversary of Wright Brothers’ Flight

On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first two flights in their homemade aircraft on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Today the National Park Service hosts a celebration at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills. At 10:35 a.m., there will be a military fly-over, with aircraft significantly more sophisticated than the Wright brothers’.… Continue Reading 105th Anniversary of Wright Brothers’ Flight

UNC Press books making headlines (and airwaves)

We’ve got lots going on around here! Here’s a quick roundup of ways in which UNC Press books are making waves right now. . . . Patrick Huber’s Linthead Stomp: The Creation of Country Music in the Piedmont South has just earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly. The review states, “With respect and passion, Huber puts these pioneering artists… Continue Reading UNC Press books making headlines (and airwaves)

Zubok among Washington Post’s Best Books of 2008

The Washington Post published its Holiday Guide yesterday, featuring the Best Books of 2008. Included in “The World” section is Vladislav Zubok’s A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev. At the beginning of the year, Richard Rhodes reviewed Zubok’s book along with Melvyn Leffler’s For the Soul of Mankind: The United States, the… Continue Reading Zubok among Washington Post’s Best Books of 2008

Louis Perez is named a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences

Louis A. Pérez Jr., a leading American scholar of Cuba and author of many prizewinning books on Cuban history — including his five most recent books published proudly by UNC Press — was celebrated by colleagues, friends, and family last month on his induction into the 2008 class of Fellows of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, one of… Continue Reading Louis Perez is named a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences

UNCP books now available in small doses through DailyLit

It’s an old idea that now has a very modern twist, like a newspaper serial for the 21st century. . . . Want to read a book but don’t have large blocks of time for settling in and curling up? We’ve found a solution for you with DailyLit — the first e-book vendor to send easy-to-read segments of books to… Continue Reading UNCP books now available in small doses through DailyLit

Reflections on “A life so noble,” The Harriet Jacobs Family Papers launch event

The following is a guest post from Michelle Lanier, curator of cultural history with the North Carolina Division of State Historic Sites and Properties. Along with Historic Edenton Site Manager Linda Jordan Eure, Lanier helped to organize the launching of The Harriet Jacobs Family Papers (edited by Jean Fagan Yellin) on November 22, 2008. Photos and podcast links follow her… Continue Reading Reflections on “A life so noble,” The Harriet Jacobs Family Papers launch event

Holy Smoke launch night at The Pit

Last Thursday the Press had a fabulous launch party for Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue at The Pit in downtown Raleigh. We celebrated with authors John Shelton Reed, Dale Volberg Reed, and William McKinney as well as several pitmasters featured in the book, including Ed Mitchell (pitmaster at The Pit), Samuel Jones (3rd-generation pitmaster at the… Continue Reading Holy Smoke launch night at The Pit

E. Patrick Johnson on today’s State of Things

On WUNC’s (91.5 FM Chapel Hill) The State of Things today at noon, Frank Stasio and a panel of guests will be discussing the legal and religious meanings of marriage in light of the passage of Prop 8 in California and similar amendments in other states. Guests will include UNC Press author E. Patrick Johnson, professor in the  Department of… Continue Reading E. Patrick Johnson on today’s State of Things

Ssssmmmokin’!

Folks, Holy Smoke is hot! Thank you! The book popped up in the #15 spot in hardcover nonfiction on SIBA’s (Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance) Southern Indie Bestseller List for the week ending November 2. This morning’s News & Observer featured an interview with the Reeds. Today, John and Dale Reed talked to Frank Stasio on The State of Things. (Podcast… Continue Reading Ssssmmmokin’!

John and Dale Reed brighten UNCP clean-up day

Well, it’s the semi-annual “clean-up day” here at UNC Press. That means everybody (except Courtney, whose office is always clean) takes some time to get their offices in order, thin out their email archives, and purge outdated files. A few extra HUGE recycling bins are brought in and are often filled to overflowing. Oh, the paper! Remember when everybody started… Continue Reading John and Dale Reed brighten UNCP clean-up day

This week in history: all our presidents got elected

It’s hard to think about anything else right now, as far as I’m concerned. And I don’t even watch teevee! That’s the thing about the internet: if you need a fix of pretty much anything, you can get it, and get it immediately. Sometimes hitting “refresh” over at fivethirtyeight.com or pollster.com feels as good as hitting the release on the… Continue Reading This week in history: all our presidents got elected

Christensen, Shelby, Hogan earn awards

Three UNCP authors deserve special cheers for winning awards recently: Rob Christensen, author of The Paradox of Tar Heel Politics, has been awarded the 2008 Ragan Old North State Award for Nonfiction by the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association. The successor to the organization’s Mayflower Cup, the Ragan Old North State Award honors Sam Ragan: poet, critic, publisher, and… Continue Reading Christensen, Shelby, Hogan earn awards

James McPherson’s top five books on the Civil War away from the battlefield

The Wall Street Journal has published a series of “Five Best” book lists in various subjects this month, including books on financial meltdowns and books on the history of medicine. This week’s list offers Pulitzer Prize-winning author James M. McPherson‘s top five books about the Civil War away from the battlefield. Of the five books on McPherson’s list, one is… Continue Reading James McPherson’s top five books on the Civil War away from the battlefield

Frankfurt Book Fair 2008

The world’s largest annual book trade show, the Frankfurt Book Fair, just wrapped up its 60th anniversary gathering. From October 15-19, the Frankfurt, Germany, fair hosted more than 50,000 visitors each day, peaking at a record 78,218 on Saturday! Vicky Wells, our director of contracts and subsidiary rights, hopped on a plane last week, crossed the Atlantic and touched down… Continue Reading Frankfurt Book Fair 2008