New Salamander Species Discovered

Carlos Camp, coeditor of AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF GEORGIA, is part of a team of researchers that has discovered a new species of salamander in northeast Georgia. Measuring in at a mere two inches, it is the second-smallest salamander species in the U.S. and one of the smallest in the world. Their discovery was recently detailed in the Journal of Zoology.

The team’s suggested common name is patch-nosed salamander, based on the lighter coloring on the salamander’s nose. The formal Latin name is Urspelerpes brucei in honor of Richard Bruce, a well-respected salamander researcher and colleague of many members of the research team.

“This animal is so distinct that it belongs in its own genus, a taxonomic level used for grouping closely related species,” Camp said. “The real significance of this find is that it represents the first new genus of four-footed creature discovered in the United States in 50 years.”

For more information on the discovery you can read the following press release from the University of Georgia.

Technorati Tags: Carlos Camp salamanders new species

UGAP at the DBF

Plan to spend some of your Labor Day weekend (September 4-6, 2009) with the University of Georgia Press at the Decatur Book Festival. In only three short years, DBF Executive Director Darren Wang, Festival Manager Mary Flad, and company have built the three-day book party into one of the most attended independent book festivals in the country. As in past years, we'll be in booths 501 and 502 on the Courthouse Square, across from Better World Books and diagonally across from Starbucks; stop by our booth for giveaways and special deals.

Events include several panels spotlighting UGAP books and authors; times and locations are subject to change:

Saturday, Sept. 5 - 11:15 am - City Hall
LATINO IMMIGRANTS AND THE U.S. SOUTH
Panel featuring Mary Odem, Elaine Lacy, and James Johnson

Saturday, Sept. 5 - 11:15 am - Decatur Library
SCREENING A LYNCHING
Author Matthew H. Bernstein interviewed by film journalist David Lee Simmons

Saturday, Sept. 5 - 3:00 pm - City Hall
ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY AND THE AMERICAN SOUTH
Panel featuring Christopher J. Manganiello, Claire Strom and Albert G. Way

Sunday, Sept. 6 - 12:00 noon - Decatur Presbyterian Church
Obama: The Prequel
Panel featuring Joe Crespino, Devin Fergus (LIBERALISM, BLACK POWER AND THE MAKING OF AMERICAN POLITICS), Kent Germany (NEW ORLEANS AFTER THE PROMISES) and Brett Gadsden

Several other UGAP authors will be involved in this year's festival, including Calvin Johnson, W. Scott Poole, John T. Edge, Phillip Lee Williams, Jack Bass, and Nathalie Dupree; check this list for a full roster of participants.

Short Takes

The Wall Street Journal reviews THE WORK OF JOE WEBB; a review also appeared in the UK architecture and design magazine Blueprint.

High Country News reviews ROSALIE EDGE, HAWK OF MERCY; author Dyana Furmansky also appeared on Cincinnati Zoo director Thane Maynard's "Field Notes" radio show on WVXU Cincinnati. Also on the radio: Shep Krech (SPIRITS OF THE AIR) on WICN Inquiry.

FEARLESS CONFESSIONS is reviewed in ForeWord Magazine; visit Sue William Silverman on her summer blog tour at Powells.com.

A video podcast is now available on YouTube that introduces GUIDE TO THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS OF GEORGIA, scheduled for publication in 2011.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reviews LOUISIANA WOMEN.

Susan Cerulean (TRACKING DESIRE) in the Foster Folly News on swallow-tailed kites.

ON TARZAN appears in a group review on the Canadian news site Rabble with reference to the “essential badness of Burroughs” and the impact of what Hilaire Belloc called “good bad books”: “Burroughs’s 23 Tarzan books, and the tangle of other works inspired by them, are looked at, seriously though not in the least forbiddingly or even drily, in Alex Vernon’s study.”

Short Takes

Charles Horner’s RISING CHINA AND ITS POSTMODERN FATE was reviewed in the Asia Chronicle and selected by the editors as one of their Best Books on Asia: “Provides an accessible overview of Chinese history, political science, and historiography while providing a new approach to considering and interpreting Chinese history…well worth the read for anyone looking to begin a more advanced study of China.”

The journal American Studies reviewed Robert H. Woodrum’s “EVERYBODY WAS BLACK DOWN THERE”: “an intriguing account of the disappearing black coal miner during the post-World War II era, and welcome addition to the growing body of historical studies on race and organized labor.”

Poetry news: The July/Aug issue of Boston Review calls FIELD FOLLY SNOW “a rigorous, gorgeous investigation of self, desire, and simple human need.” The Rumpus reviews IF BIRDS GATHER YOUR HAIR FOR NESTING: “In digging up graves and rooting through the past, Anna Journey’s rich lines assert the writing of poetry as the vehicle that can change one’s luck, one’s history and future.”

A PORTRAIT OF HISTORIC ATHENS AND CLARKE COUNTY was reviewed last week in Flagpole Magazine: “Her book is like a conversation with somebody who loves Athens and is full of interesting facts about our town. It’s one of those books that you can open anywhere and find yourself enthralled with some period of Athens history.” Fran Thomas also appeared on WGAU Newsmakers with Tim Bryant; a podcast of the show is available online.

The Athens Banner-Herald covers the University of Georgia Press; ON TARZAN mentioned in the Financial Times.

Sue Silverman's virtual tour

Sue William Silverman will be making an interactive virtual tour this summer, taking part in interviews and q&a's about her recently released guide to the art of memoir, FEARLESS CONFESSIONS.

This practical guide, which includes tips for both writing and marketing a memoir, is also at a certain level a manifesto. As characterized in a recent Bookslut review, “Silverman explores the extent to which literary memoirs are still regarded as taboo, dismissed by some as a way for authors to exploit their personal woes for monetary gain. She mounts a thoughtful defense of the genre, pointing out the extent to which there are double standards in how memoirs are judged. For instance, while the stories of war heroes and hostages in foreign lands can be lauded even when their writing is less than stellar, Silverman reports that women who write memoirs about incest and battery, sexual orientation, or other personal subjects are seen as exhibitionist and self-pitying. The predominating attitude is that troubles on the ‘home front’ -- which are often the stories of women, children, or other powerless groups -- should not be written about or otherwise publicized.”

Check in with Sue at any of the following venues in the writers and writing blogosphere:

July 16
Interview with Sue on the Writing Process
www.writingitreal.com

July 30
Blog: “The Confessions of My Generation”
Powells.com

August—ongoing Q&A all month
National Association of Baby Boomer Women
Boomer Women Speak Community Forum on Writing
www.boomerwomenspeak.com/forums/ubbthreads.php

August 3
Interview and book giveaway
“The Muffin”
wow-womenonwriting.com/blog.html

August 5
Blog discussion with Sue on “Truth in Memoir”
donnasbookpub.blogspot.com

August 6
Blog discussion with Sue on “The Redemptive Power of Writing Memoir”
gaijinmama.wordpress.com

August 7
Blog discussion with Sue on “The Importance of Women’s Voices in Memoir”
hellorhighwaterwriter.blogspot.com

August 10
Interview with Sue on the writing process
www.annettefix.com

August 12
An interview with Sue on memoir writing
writerinspired.wordpress.com

August 14
Interview and book review
thedivinemissmommy.com

August 18
Blog discussion with Sue about “Five Redemptive Paths through Memoir”
www.mikeswritingworkshop.blogspot.com

August 19
Blog discussion with Sue on “Using Savory Words to Write Memoir”
www.hopeclark.blogspot.com

August 21
Blog discussion with Sue on “How to Use Sensory Description to Bring Your Story to Life”
www.writersroundabout.com

August 26
Interview with Sue about revealing secrets through memoir.
www.JerryWaxler.com

September 1
Book giveaway and discussion with Sue on “The Courage to Tell Your Story”
www.soablondewalksintoareview.com