BEA retrospective

The University of Nebraska Press is back from Book Expo America. As always, it was wonderful to catch up with the authors, booksellers, reviewers, agents, bloggers, and others who we work with throughout the year. This year, we did a few things a bit out of the ordinary for us at BEA. First of all, we invited BEA attendees to stop by our booth to register to win 50 books up to $500. This made our booth a popular destination (as did the Bison Books tote bags we gave away), and Elizabeth Schow of Brigham City Library was our big … Continue reading BEA retrospective

Off the Shelf: Realizing Tomorrow by Chris Dubbs and Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom

Dubbs Read the beginning of the Prologue from Realizing Tomorrow: The Path to Private Spaceflight by Chris Dubbs and Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom:

"The Holland America cruise ship SS Statendam stood at berth in New York Harbor on 4 December 1972 preparing for a curious mission related to the American space program. Tom Buckley, reporter for the New York Times, boarded the ship, unsure what to expect. There was a buzz that this trip would be something special, with big-name headliners: Wernher von Braun, head of the American space program; Apollo astronaut Edgar Mitchell, who eleven months earlier had walked on the moon; and writer Arthur C. Clarke, whose novel 2001: A Space Odyssey had been made into a movie in 1968.

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Day one of Book Expo America

Today was day one of Book Expo America, and it was a good day for the University of Nebraska Press. It's always wonderful to meet UNP authors. We got to catch up with Steve Steinberg, who along with Lyle Spatz is the author of 1921. Steve and Lyle will read from and sign copies of 1921 tomorrow (Wednesday night) at Steuben's flagship store, 667 Madison Ave., in New York from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. A crystal store is an unusual venue for a baseball book event, and we are excited to attend. We also got to see Terese Svoboda, … Continue reading Day one of Book Expo America

Off the Shelf: No Word for Welcome by Wendy Call

Read the beginning of Chapter 1, "Learning the Lay of the Land" from No Word for Welcome: The Mexican Village Faces the Global Economy by Wendy Call: "On the porch of the general store fifty villagers sat on piles of wood or carefully stacked bags of cement mix, waiting. The murmur of their words, in the throaty tones of Mixe, mixed with the thrum of late September rain. The porch was large enough to accommodate the whole group without crowding, small enough to allow them to speak without raising their voices and still be heard. Beyond the porch, webs of … Continue reading Off the Shelf: No Word for Welcome by Wendy Call

UNP at BEA

The University of Nebraska Press is getting ready for Book Expo America, which begins Tuesday, May 24 in New York. Stop by our booth (number 2546) to check out our latest books, to pick up a copy of Karol Nielsen’s Black Elephants, which is forthcoming in October, and to say hello. Additionally, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of our paperback imprint, Bison Books, we will be giving away 50 books up to $500 to one lucky winner. Stop by our booth to register to win. We’ll announce the winner at 2 p.m. on Thursday. Visit our blog next week … Continue reading UNP at BEA

Remembering Bill Kloefkorn

The University of Nebraska Press community was saddened yesterday to hear of the death of longtime state poet Bill Kloefkorn. Bill, for many years an English Professor at Nebraska Wesleyan University, had a long relationship with the University of Nebraska Press, and published many books with us. He was kind, gracious, wonderful to work with, a beautiful writer of both prose and poetry, and gave some of the best readings I have ever heard. He was 78 years old. Cindy Lange-Kubick wrote a nice tribute story, which ran in today’s Lincoln Journal Star. Feel free to share your own remembrances … Continue reading Remembering Bill Kloefkorn

Treason on the Airwaves author Judith Keene featured on Rorotoko

Literary concepts site Rorotoko published a post this week featuring an in-depth interview with Judith Keene, author of Treason on the Airwaves: Three Allied Broadcasters on Axis Radio During World War Two (published by the University of Nebraska Press): "Traitors in wartime have a long history. During World War Two, both Allied and Axis governments used enemy nationals to broadcast propaganda. When the war ended, the victors prosecuted a number of their own citizens for treason. "My book tracks the vivid experiences of three individuals who broadcast on Axis radio and later were tried as traitors. Although the treason laws … Continue reading Treason on the Airwaves author Judith Keene featured on Rorotoko

1921 receives 2011 Seymour Medal

Lyle Spatz and Steven Steinberg, authors of 1921, received the Seymour Medal Award over the weekend. The award, named for baseball historians Harold Seymour and Dorothy Seymour Mills, is awarded each year by the Society for American Baseball Research to authors of the best book on baseball history published during the preceding year. Dorothy Seymour Mills spoke at the awards ceremony over the weekend and had the following to say about 1921: "In their book, 1921, Steinberg and Spatz have given us a snapshot of professional baseball as it was changing from the pitching-dominated game to one with much more … Continue reading 1921 receives 2011 Seymour Medal

Spaceflight: Present and Past

Every step in spaceflight would be impossible without those who made previous advances in the field. This applies to NASA's shuttle Endeavour, as well, which took off on its final flight Monday morning. After Endeavour, Atlantis will take off this summer, the final American shuttle to be launched. The Outward Odyssey series, edited by Colin Burgess and published by the University of Nebraska Press, provides a popular history of spaceflight from the rocket scientists of the 1930s to today, focusing on the lives of astronauts, cosmonauts, technicians, scientists, and their families. The series brings to life experiences that shaped the … Continue reading Spaceflight: Present and Past

Off the Shelf: Mondo and Other Stories by J. M. G. Le Clézio

LeClezio Read the beginning of the title story, "Mondo", from Mondo and Other Stories by J. M. G. Le Clézio, translated by Alison Anderson:

"No one really knew where Mondo came from. He just showed up one day, by chance, here in our town, and no one really noticed, and then we got used to him. He was ten years old or so, with a round, tranquil face and fine, slightly slanted black eyes. But it was, above all, his hair that we noticed, ash brown hair that changed color with the light and seemed almost gray at nightfall.

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