Today is the first day of a short but busy week here at the University of Nebraska Press. Tomorrow (Tuesday) evening is a launch party for our book Louise Pound: Scholar, Athlete, Feminist Pioneer, which is (as the title implies) a biography of linguist and notable Nebraskan Louise Pound. The book launch party, which happens to coincide with Louise Pound’s birthday, is at the Antlers Center, at the corner of Sheridan Boulevard and South Street here in Lincoln, from 5 to 7 p.m. Bonus: Some of Pound’s athletic equipment – including skates, golf clubs and tennis racquets – will be … Continue reading Louise Pound, Pie-A-Palooza and Michael Jackson, too

 While our chief blogger Cara is still cycling across Nebraska this week, here's another University of Nebraska Press cycling memoir to check out: An American Cycling Odyssey, 1887 by Kevin J. Hayes. In 1887 a twenty-one-year-old newspaperman named George Nellis (1865–1948) rode a bicycle from Herkimer, New York, to San Francisco in seventy-two days, surpassing the transcontinental bicycle record by several weeks. He passed through Nebraska on his trip and he also managed to meet the legendary baseball player A. G. Spalding in Chicago, take in professional baseball games in Detroit and Chicago, participate in several bicycle races in Omaha, attend an opera … Continue reading Bicycling Blogger

This past weekend, the University of Nebraska Press fielded a women's 10k team in our local Havelock Charity Run, and our charity funds went to the Lincoln Literacy Council. To top it all off, we also earned 3rd place in our division. UNP Runners from left to right: Erica Corwin (web sales coordinator and sometimes blogger), Tish Fobben (direct mail manager), Amy Lage (UNP facebook fan), Cara Pesek (Publicity Manager and chief blogger), Donna Shear (director), Joeth Zucco (Senior Project Editor) If you're a runner or you're interested in reading about running, check out Personal Record: A Love Affair with Running … Continue reading Running for Reading

Every year, June 2, my dad’s birthday, sneaks up on me. Rarely do I have a gift for him (though it always serves as a reminder of Father’s Day, a few weeks later).  Had I been thinking, this year I would have given my dad a copy of Monica Nucciarone’s new book, Alexander Cartwright: The Life Behind the Baseball Legend. My dad (like many dads out there) loves both baseball and baseball history, and I’m sure he’d appreciate learning more of Cartwright’s very interesting life, which included founding the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York, joining the California Gold … Continue reading Happy birthday Dad! Happy publication day Alexander Cartwright! Happy upcoming Father’s Day!

Here are a few shots from BookExpo America: More than 50 people attended BEA’s Independent Publishers Editors Buzz panel Saturday morning. Tom Swanson pitched Ted Kooser’s forthcoming book, Lights on a Ground of Darkness. ForeWord Magazine's Independent Publisher of the Year Award looks nice in the UNP booth. A wider view of the UNP booth after Thursday's setup. Continue reading Photographic Review of BEA

 On this day in 1848, Wisconsin became the 30th U.S. State. To celebrate this anniversary, here are some facts about the Badger State: — The name “Wisconsin” comes from a Ojibwa word meaning “red rocks” or “gathering of waters.” The name was originally used to describe the Wisconsin River. — Wisconsin claims to be the home of more country music festivals than any other state. — America’s Dairyland is actually only the second highest producer of dairy products in the United States – California is first. — Architect Frank Lloyd Wright was a Wisconsin Native, and a summer home and … Continue reading This day in history, Wisconsin trivia, and a reminder about BEA

It is a most unusual Donner Party narrative, for rather than writing a narrative of the Donner’s cross-country journey, Gabrielle Burton takes her husband and five daughters on a road trip, visiting spots that Tamsen Donner lived in along the way. The catch? The road trip was in 1977, when Burton was trying to write a novel that touched, but did not focus, on Tamsen Donner. … The result is part memoir, part historical recreation, part travelogue. This is from the blog Ghost Word, which today features a post on University of Nebraska Press author Gabrielle Burton and her newest … Continue reading University of Nebraska Press in (cyber)space