Category: UNC Press News

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

Online book buzz: the food’s the thing

Before the week gets away from me, I wanted to be able to share some more of the online buzz UNC Press books have gotten lately. It’s all about FOOD . . . Nancy Carter Crump’s Hearthside Cooking: Early American Southern Cuisine Updated for Today’s Hearth and Cookstove is hitting bookstores now. Get an early taste over at Gherkins and… Continue Reading Online book buzz: the food’s the thing

Robin Williams stops by UNC Press Booth in Nashville

The University of North Carolina Press was not the only out-of-towner attending the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville Oct. 10-Oct. 12. Comedian and actor Robin Williams strolled through the War Memorial Plaza on Sunday and checked out what UNC Press had to offer. He even purchased Lincoln and the Decision for War, by Russell McClintock, as seen in this… Continue Reading Robin Williams stops by UNC Press Booth in Nashville

Verifying your voter registration status

According to an article in the New York Times today, tens of thousands of eligible voters have erroneously—and illegally—been removed from voter rolls in at least six battleground states, including North Carolina. On top of the fact that it is against the law (with few exceptions, such as death) to purge voter rolls within 90 days of an election, many… Continue Reading Verifying your voter registration status

Call for Entries: Get Caught Reading . . . a Banned Book! Send pics!

Dear, sweet readers, do you know what this week is? It’s Banned Books Week, brought to you by the American Library Association. It’s that time once a year when we celebrate the freedom to read what we want by flaunting all the books that people at one time or another, for one reason or another, didn’t want somebody to read.… Continue Reading Call for Entries: Get Caught Reading . . . a Banned Book! Send pics!

UNC Press in Mobile, AL

Greetings from Mobile, Alabama! What a weekend-well-spent at the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (commonly referred to as SIBA) 2008 trade show. The University of North Carolina Press received quite a bit of positive feedback for many reasons. EVERYONE we spoke with is anxiously awaiting the arrival of Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue and couldn’t give enough praise… Continue Reading UNC Press in Mobile, AL

E. Patrick Johnson’s “Pouring Tea” in Chapel Hill and Durham

If you didn’t go check out the videos mentioned in Tom’s post on Sweet Tea a couple of weeks ago, go do it now. In fact, here’s a direct link to the page where the videos are. Go on. I’ll wait. . . . . . . Okay, I actually just went and re-watched all six of them again. I… Continue Reading E. Patrick Johnson’s “Pouring Tea” in Chapel Hill and Durham

A Yankee Vegetarian Considers North Carolina Barbecue

I grew up in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC, the eldest child of parents who’s idea of gastronomic adventure was going out to the local Hot Shoppes Cafeteria (you southerners just think the K&W and you’ll get the idea). It wasn’t until I was eighteen, when I grew my hair long, pierced my ear, and became a vegetarian that… Continue Reading A Yankee Vegetarian Considers North Carolina Barbecue

Hurricane Season Comes to the Carolinas

Less than a week after Hurricane Gustav kept many of us watching The Weather Channel, hoping New Orleans would be spared a repeat of the flooding damage brought by Hurricane Katrina, those of us in North Carolina are now watching as Tropical Storm Hanna is taking aim at the Carolina coastline. Many of us here at the UNC Press have… Continue Reading Hurricane Season Comes to the Carolinas