t is sweltering in my New York apartment.  No air conditioning.  I’m trying to use as few electrical appliances as possible, except the fans.  Computers and televisions create heat.  So I’m reading. June has some exciting things coming out in science and science fiction at Nebraska Press.  The first one is technically nonfiction but is about a lot of fiction, Robert Silverberg’s Scientists and Scoundrels.  Because long before Photoshop made it easy to alter one’s data, people were stacking the evidence in their favor.  Silverberg is an unparalleled sf writer and I can’t wait to see what this book has … Continue reading June and new in sf

Not only did Famous make the Poetry Foundation’s Contemporary Best Sellers list, it garnered a little tidbit on the site’s side bar: "Since it’s only at number 29, we’re unable to determine whether the title is self-reflexive. After all, the book’s not by Lohan or Stiles. Kathleen Flenniken’s Famous debuts at number 29." This blogger thinks that Kathleen is a bona fide celebrity! Continue reading A Poetry Foundation Best Seller

To make life easier on folks, we at the University of Nebraska Press blog went through our old podcasts and recast them!  From now on, you just have to press play and listen to these classic podcasts, ranging from authors with surprisingly melodic voices reading from their works to events covering hot topics,  good writing, and photography!  So that you won’t have trouble finding these archived podcasts, we have included—in this post—short descriptions and links below.   September, 2006: A talk with author Pamela Joern about her novel —The Floor of the Sky—and writing during the (downtown) Omaha Lit Fest. … Continue reading Archived Podcasts: No Downloading Required

am a hypocrite.  I argue for speculative fiction to be taken seriously as an intelligent, literary genre and then look down on romance and chick lit as "lesser" genres.  So when my husband introduced me to this book, I made fun of him. I know what you are thinking.  Romance?  Don’t you review sf?  Yup.  But Outlander falls into the unclassifiable, including the Loch Ness Monster, time travel, and adventure.  What it doesn’t do is follow the usual structure of a romance novel where the story is over once the hero and the heroine get together.  Here they get married … Continue reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

e have a choice of two for May’s podcast.  John Schulian, who introduced the Bison edition of Paper Tiger: An Old Sportswriter’s Reminiscences of People, Newspapers, War and Work by Stanley Woodward, was kind enough to record an excerpted version of his introduction and a complete reading of his introduction.  Enjoy! Full Version, about 17 minutes: Download Schulian_Paper_Tiger_L_UNPress.mp3 Excerpted Version, about 9 minutes: Download 006_UNPress_2007_05_31_Schulian_Paper_Tiger_S.mp3 Continue reading John Schulian on Stanley Woodward

Silence Is Death: The Life and Work of Tahar Djaout by Julija Šukys “In Silence Is Death: The Life and Work of Tahar Djaout one gets a sense of the man, the artist, and Ms. Šukys herself. With a lyrical nomadism, she combines her study with detours into memoir and even fiction on themes of bones and memory.”—Nina C. Ayoub, The Chronicle of Higher Education “Sukys . . . has written a beautiful but unsentimental book about her search for Algerian poet Tahar Djaout, who was killed in 1993 at the height of Islamic terrorism against intellectuals. No work of … Continue reading Praise for Silence Is Death

Because a Fire Was in My Head by Lynn Stegner “Having been a writer’s writer for 20 years, Lynn Stegner is not exactly new. Yet her latest book, Because a Fire Was in My Head, will undoubtedly catapult her to literary fame. . . .  Stegner has rendered a truly tragic story, yet she writes it beautifully, demonstrating the stunning things that can be done with the English language when one is gifted.”—Deseret Morning News Read previous praise for Because a Fire Was in My Head Continue reading More Praise for Because a Fire Was in My Head

Scoring from Second: Writers on Baseball Edited and with an introduction by Philip F. Deaver; Foreword by Lee K. Abbott “[T]hese pieces by such noted writers as Christopher Buckley, Andre Dubus, and Chris Mazza address not just a sport but a sport’s place in the fabric of our lives. . . . The writing is polished, and the sentiments will touch a chord.”—Library Journal Xpress Read previous praise for Scoring from Second Continue reading More Praise for Scoring from Second