atrick Dobson, author of Seldom Seen, which is new this fall from the University of Nebraska Press, was interviewed in the Kansas City Star earlier this week. The book, for blog readers who are unfamiliar, recounts a trip that Dobson took 15 years ago, on foot, across the Great Plains. The article, a Q&A with the author, deals with how (and why) Dobson came to quit his job at a Kansas City hotel, say goodbye to his beloved young daughter, pack a backpack and set out for Helena, Montana. That trip changed Dobson, and he said he views the Patrick … Continue reading Seldom Seen author Patrick Dobson in Kansas City Star

The Penhallow Bakery is almost a character in itself in Sherrie Flick’s Reconsidering Happiness. It’s where the two main characters, Vivette and Margaret, spend late nights and early mornings baking scones, cookies, cakes, loaves of bread. It’s where they meet friends and lovers, where they go to celebrate and to mourn. It’s what ties the women to their community, and its recipes are something they take with them when they ultimately move away. And it’s also based on a real bakery where Flick once worked – The Ceres Bakery (on Penhallow Street) in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Clara Silverstein wrote about … Continue reading The real Penhallow Bakery

Montana is a wonderful backdrop for a story – it’s beautiful, sparse, romantic, and wild – or at least is perceived as such. The University of Nebraska Press has published many books set in Montana or by Montana authors and in one of the more recent ones, All Our Stories Are Here, a number of Montana authors examine both the way Montana is portrayed in fiction, as well as contributions Montanans have made to the literary community. Among topics covered: representations of the state in popular romances, and the importance of the University of Montana’s creative writing program in fostering … Continue reading On Montana and Montana writers

The latest Ken Burns Documentary, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea is on PBS stations everywhere this fall. Critics have praised the beautiful camera work and the thorough history this series tells (of the National Parks' founding fathers, of course, but also of the Native groups displaced, of mysterious deaths, of interesting visitors and more). Some of the stories told in this series are also stories told in books published by the University of Nebraska Press. And many of these stories are on sale, through the month of November. The National Parks co-producer Dayton Duncan is the author of several … Continue reading The National Parks and the University of Nebraska Press

Short stories, while not as popular in form as novels, are, in a lot of ways, more convenient. They’re short. It’s easy to read an entire story in a single sitting. Even if that sitting is at a computer, or an iPod. Writer/editor/teacher Dan Sinker has begun a project called CellStories, in which he’s posting a short story a day at http://cellstories.net/. The reason, according to the Web site: “Because we still think the best place for something wonderful to read is in the palm of your hand and, when you combine the amazing technology of modern web-enabled phones and … Continue reading Work from Terese Svoboda to be features on CellStories

The Nebraska Cornhuskers will play the Louisiana-Lafayette in a sold-out stadium this Saturday. It will be the 300th consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium. Anyone who knows Nebraska football knows that the consistent sellout crowds are an important part of the game day atmosphere. There’s a certain feeling of privilege that comes with scoring tickets, and there’s a certain feeling of camaraderie that comes with being part of an enormous, enthusiastic crowd. University of Nebraska Press author Steve Smith talked to 10/11 News about the significance of 300 consecutive sellouts, as well as the significance of Husker Football to fans across … Continue reading Huskers (and UNP authors) in the news

The Wall Street Journal recently ran this fascinating story about pulp writer Harold Lamb, and about the volumes of his short stories that the University of Nebraska Press began publishing three years ago. Lamb’s stories were fixtures in the pulp magazines of the 1950s, and his stories were usually set in Asia and on the Russian Steppes. His stories pure adventure, without the sorcery and science fiction elements of many pulp stories of the day. The author of the WSJ article, John J. Miller, wrote this about Lamb’s writing: "Lamb … didn't stick magical or supernatural elements into his historical settings. … Continue reading Lost Lamb (rediscovered)

This edition of This Day in History comes to you courtesy of NPR, which this morning noted that today is the 70th anniversary of the first televised baseball game. The Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers played in this historic game, and about 3,000 viewers are estimated to have watched on  W2XBS (now WNBC-TV). Many more spectators watched from the stands. The significance of this broadcast is outlined in Centerfield Shot: A History of Baseball on Television by James R. Walker and Robert V. Bellamy Jr. In this book the authors explain why the game’s arrival on the small screen … Continue reading This Day in History