In his long search to process his grief over the rape and murder of his teenage friend by a fellow classmate, Jim Reese becomes entangled in prisons—both physically and psychologically. Coming to a Neighborhood near You is the result: his investigative memoir of crime and punishment in the twenty-first-century United States.

Taylor Gilreath is an associate acquisitions editor for UNP and acquires titles for the Potomac Books imprint. Here she discusses why she chose to publish Coming to a Neighborhood Near You: The Repercussions of Crime and Punishment (Potomac Books, 2025) by Jim Reese.

I graduated from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with a BA in 2019 and majored in English. I focused a lot on modern American and global literature, fiction, and creative writing after realizing there wasn’t a lot of room to be creative on a pre-law track. Still of interest though, I completed the requirements to minor in criminology and psychology. I worked as a copyeditor for The Daily Nebraskan, UNL’s student newspaper. I also interned at UNP during my senior year and was eventually offered a full-time position as an acquisitions editorial assistant. This is my sixth year with the Press, and I am in my second year as the acquiring editor of Potomac Books, a trade nonfiction imprint of UNP. If I’m not reading for work, I’m reading for fun (and almost always I’m doing both!).

My job in publishing fulfills so many facets of my life, and I’m grateful for the ability to work with books every day. If you believe in the power of reading, whether it be for fun, education, information, or for an alternate reality, what better career is there than to publish books? I knew from an early age that reading and writing was my strong suit, but as I stepped into my adult life, I had to acknowlege the harsh reality that traditional reading and writing are losing power in the world. I want to make certain that these creative outlets do not disappear through supporting authors and helping shepherd books to publication.

What immediately grabbed me about Coming to a Neighborhood Near You was that it investigates a crime that happened in Nebraska. It was regional. The deeper I got into the book, I realized how much the advocacy and mission of the author aligned with my own. I respect so much Jim’s commitment to advocating for incarcerated peoples’ right to be educated behind prison walls and the initiatives he’s been a part of to offer a creative outlet for them. I thought I wanted to go to law school, but it conflicted with the creative side of myself as an editor and publisher. We need both and this book is a good representation of that. It speaks to the humanity that is often missing when we discuss criminal justice, and readers will be reminded with this book not to lose sight of that.

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Coming to a Neighborhood Near You is available September 1, 2025. Save 40% when you order now using code 6AF25 at checkout.