Frank X Walker: NAACP Image Award Winner

Courtesy of the author

Congratulations, Frank X Walker! His book, TURN ME LOOSE, won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Poetry.


The 45th annual ceremony was held in Los Angeles on Saturday, February 22. More information about the awards, including a list of all the winners, can be found here.


TURN ME LOOSE is a collection of poetry that speaks out on the life and loss of Medgar Evers. The book was published last May, for the 50th anniversary of his death.


 On June 12, 1963, Evers was assassinated in the driveway of his Mississippi home by white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith. The first NAACP field secretary for Mississippi, Evers's death was the first assassination of a high-ranking public figure in the civil rights movement. The poems in TURN ME LOOSE unleash the strong emotions both before and after the moment of assassination and take on the voices of Evers's widow, Myrlie; his brother, Charles; his assassin, Byron De La Beckwith; and each of De La Beckwith's two wives. Except for the book's title, "Turn me loose," which were his final words, Evers remains in this collection silent.

Short Takes

Congratulations to our designers and fellow university presses! The Association of American University Press (AAUP) has just revealed the entries that made the 2014 AAUP Book, Jacket, and Journal Show. Two UGA Press titles were selected for the scholarly typographic category: THE LARDER and RED, WHITE, AND BLACK MAKE BLUE. THIEVES I'VE KNOWN was selected for the trade typographic category. "Approximately 263 books, 330 jacket and cover designs, and 4 journals were entered. 39 books, 22 jackets and covers, and 1 journal were chosen by the jurors as the very best examples from this pool of excellent design." The full list is available here.

Two big author events are happening tomorrow (2/20):

•  Paul M. Pressly, author of ON THE RIM OF THE CARIBBEAN, will be giving a talk on "Colonial Georgia: Caribbean Influences and the British Atlantic World" in the University of Georgia Chapel (Athens, GA) at 4:00pm. A signing will follow. The talk is part of the 2014 Global Georgia Initiative, a program of the Jane and Harry Willson Center for Humanities and Arts.

•  Dr. Louis W. Sullivan will be speaking about his book, BREAKING GROUND, at the Barnes and Noble in Buckhead (Atlanta, GA) at 7:00pm. A signing will follow.

A book review published in the American Journal of Sociology describes Alison Hope Akon's BLACK, WHITE, AND GREEN as an “excellent insiders critique of market-oriented environmentalism, embodied in the farmers’ market movement."

According to Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, Lisa M. Brady's WAR UPON THE LAND is a "sophisticated and highly original volume leads scholars to consider important new questions about the relationship between the war and environmental change."
 
The Baptist Times recently said the stories in Julian Hoffman's THE SMALL HEART OF THINGS "show us how the doors of our perception are opened, if, like the author, we pay loving attention to the places around us." To read the full review, click here.

THE HORRIBLE GIFT OF FREEDOM by Marcus Wood was praised by the Journal of African American History describing it as "a scholarly and well-written addition to the study of art, history, literature, and African, African American, and African Diaspora Studies.”

H-Net commented on THE PROBLEM SOUTH saying Natalie J. Ring's "challenge to step back and see the South as a part of the nation's policy and rhetoric of empire deserves attention and further pursuit." To read the full review, click here.

As reviewed by the Journal of African American History, Julie Buckner Armstrong's MARY TURNER AND THE MEMORY OF LYNCHING is "[w]ell crafted and well written"and "offers a thorough investigation of the South’s scarred social and cultural landscape."

The Journal of Southern History says APPLES AND ASHES by Coleman Hutchison is "a work of literary history, but it has much to offer scholars from other fields" including cultural and intellectual historians and scholars interested in nationalism.

The Colonial Latin American Historical Review recommends David Correia's PROPERTIES OF VIOLENCE for "classroom use, land grant research, as well as the general reader seeking to learn more about New Mexico’s history."

H-Net shared a review of STREETS OF MEMORY by Amy Mills saying it "is a welcome contribution to classes focusing on theory and applied methods, gender and state formation in urban contexts as well as to advanced courses on Turkish republican history." The full review is available here.

Winners Announced for the AWP Creative Nonfiction Award, National Poetry Series, and Cave Canem Poetry Prize

We're pleased to announce the winners of several creative writing awards. Look for these soon-to-be published books this fall.

Association of Writers and Writing Programs

Congratulations to Sarah Gorham for winning this year’s Association of Writers and Writing Programs Award for Creative Nonfiction with her work STUDY IN PERFECT. Gorham is a poet, essayist, and publisher who resides in Prospect, Kentucky. She received her MFA from the University of Iowa and her BA from Antioch College. She currently has four published collections of poetry including DON'T GO BACK TO SLEEP, THE TENSION ZONE, THE CURE, and BAD DAUGHTER. Her poems and essays have been published widely, and she has won several awards, along with grants and fellowships. In March 1994 Gorham founded Sarabande Books, a small press devoted to the publication of poetry, short fiction, and literary nonfiction. She currently serves as president and editor-in-chief. She is the wife of fellow poet Jeffrey Skinner, the mother of two daughters, and a grandmother.

Sarah Gorham’s STUDY IN PERFECT will be published by the University of Georgia Press in the fall of 2014. Last year’s winner, THE SMALL HEART OF THINGS by Julian Hoffman, was published by UGA Press in October 2013.

STUDY IN PERFECT is a book that wholeheartedly delves into ‘the many-faceted idea of perfection.’ Drawing from the realms of science, philosophy, linguistics, social history, and personal reminiscence, the writer uses the abundance of knowledge and intuition at her disposal to define these facets. In doing so, she probes the human capacity to imagine perfection and to seek its illusive promise despite the odds against finding it. In many ways, this is a book about yearning and imperfection as much as it is about the ideals we strive for, and the author’s humanizing touch makes STUDY IN PERFECT not only informative but emotionally rewarding as well. It’s not often that I encounter a writer whose prose is this precise and lyrical and whose imaginative leaps are as articulate, unpredictable, and entertaining.—Bernard Cooper

 
National Poetry Series

The National Poetry Series is pleased to announce the results of the 2013 open competition. The winning books are scheduled for publication in the summer of 2014.

AMPERSAND REVISITED, by Simeon Berry of Somerville, Massachusetts
Chosen by Ariana Reines, to be published by Fence Books

TRESPASS, by Thomas Dooley of New York, New York
Chosen by Charlie Smith, to be published by HarperCollins Publishers

BONE MAP, by Sara Eliza Johnson of Salt Lake City, Utah
Chosen by Martha Collins, to be published by Milkweed Editions

ITS DAY BEING GONE, by Rose McLarney of Tulsa, Oklahoma
Chosen by Robert Wrigley, to be published by Penguin Books

WHAT RIDICULOUS THINGS WE COULD ASK OF EACH OTHER, by Jeffrey Schultz of Los Angeles, California
Chosen by Kevin Young, to be published by University of Georgia Press

The National Poetry Series was established in 1978 to ensure the publication of poetry books annually through participating publishers. More than 160 books have been awarded since the series’ inception. Publication is funded by the Lannan Foundation, Stephen Graham, the Joyce & Seward Johnson Foundation, Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds, and the Poetry Foundation.

For more information, please contact 

The Coordinator 

The National Poetry Series 

57 Mountain Avenue 

Princeton, NJ 08540 

Phone: 609.430.0999 Fax: 609.430.9933 

Jeffrey Schultz's poems have appeared in Boston Review, Indiana Review, Missouri Review, Prairie Schooner, Poetry, and elsewhere and have been featured on the PBS Newshour's Art Beat and Poetry Daily. He's received the "Discovery"/Boston Review prize and a Ruth Lilly Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation. He lives in Los Angeles and teaches at Pepperdine University.

Cave Canem

Established in 1999, this first-book award is dedicated to the discovery of exceptional manuscripts by African American poets. The participation of distinguished judges and prominent literary presses has made this prize highly competitive.

2013 Winner: F. Douglas Brown for his manuscript ZERO TO THREE

These poems lead us from the birth cry in a hospital delivery room, to dusk and revelry in Spain, to modern-day Florida and history-laden Mississippi where Trayvon Martin and Emmitt Till were slain. Even when what Brown has set out to do is grieve loss, his lines move with a buoyant, marrow-deep music, percussive and rich. They move like ‘a train, bound to a destination’ and they arrive with ‘the crackle lightning makes when it hits.’—Tracy K. Smith 

2013 Honorable Mentions: Leon Baham for THE BOOK OF IMAGINARY BOYS and Donika Ross for AMERICAN TAXONOMIES.

F. Douglas Brown, an educator for nearly twenty years, currently teaches English at Loyola High School of Los Angeles, an all-boys Jesuit school. He has an MA in literature and creative writing from San Francisco State University and a BA in English from Santa Clara University. Mr. Brown is both a Cave Canem and Kundiman fellow, two writing organizations that celebrate and cultivate African American and Asian American poets, respectively. Brown has two children, Isaiah and Olivia. When he is not parenting, writing, or teaching, Brown is busy deejaying in the greater Los Angeles area.

Short Takes

Atlanta Magazine reviews Glenn T. Eskew's JOHNNY MERCER, saying that while it is long and, at times, slightly academic, "nothing detracts from the richness and depth of Mercer's life story."

In a story on the 90th birthday of Booker T. Washington High School, Fox 5 Atlanta interviews several of its graduates, including Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, author of BREAKING GROUND. Watch the video here. (Dr. Sullivan's interview begins at 2:47.) If you look closely, you will see Dr. Sullivan holding a copy of BREAKING GROUND. Here's some trivia: the images featured in the interview also appear in his book.

According to The Rumpus, Cynthia Lowen's THE CLOUD THAT CONTAINED THE LIGHTNING uses a "somewhat fragmented and compelling five-act structure"to "to talk about what happens to any of us when we depart the precincts of our more rational, empathetic consciousness; when we are driven . . ., to have a family, to have love, and still somehow also be responsible for creating something that can end to human life on an apocalyptic scale."

The Women's Review of Books reviews Jane Gerhard's "important, overdue contribution to the history of feminism." THE DINNER PARTY "finds value and meaning in feminist cultural expressions." Judy Chicago's THE DINNER PARTY will be released by Monacelli Press this April and features contributions by Jane Gerhard. More information is available from the publisher's website.

Georgia Public Broadcasting interviewed Leslie M. Harris and Daina Ramey Berry about their new book, SLAVERY AND FREEDOM IN SAVANNAH. An article about the radio piece is available here.

Author Maurice C. Daniels will be speaking about his book, SAVING THE SOUL OF GEORGIA, and famed civil rights attorney Donald L. Hollowell at the Decatur Library on February 24. A Georgia Center for the Book event, the talk will start at 7:15pm and be followed by a book signing.

THE PROBLEM SOUTH by Natalie J. Ring was recently reviewed by Southeastern Geographer saying, "The Problem South is a richly researched book that is of clear relevance to any human geographer studying issues of southern and national identities from the 1800s to the present day.

The AAG Review of Books describes Don Mitchell's THEY SAVED THE CROPS as an "extensively researched tome on the central role of the Bracero Program in changing the landscape of California’s agricultural labor and property relations."

The AAG Review of Books reviews BLACK, WHITE, AND GREEN, saying the book's "insights will be well received in fields including, but not limited to, food studies, critical race studies, urban studies, and cultural geography." 

Congratulations to Andrea Feeser and Kari Frederickson! Their books, RED, WHITE, AND BLACK MAKE BLUE and COLD WAR DIXIE (respectively), were named as finalists for the George C. Rogers, Jr. Book Award from the South Carolina Historical Society.

ON THE RIM OF THE CARIBBEAN author Paul M. Pressly will be speaking at the University of Georgia on Thursday, February 20. His talk is part of the Willson Center's Global Georgia Initiative series. The talk will begin at 4:00pm in the Chapel and be followed by a book signing. More information is available here.

Atlanta actress Brenda Bynum will present a “Jordan is So Chilly: An Encounter with Lillian Smith,” a solo performance drawn largely from unpublished autobiographical writings by the author. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. in the auditorium of the University of Georgia Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries. A reception will follow. For many years, UGA Press kept Lillian Smith's STRANGE FRUIT in print and now we publish MEMORY OF A LARGE CHRISTMAS.

We are open again . . . mostly

Plants covered in snow (2004).
Photo by Dot Paul, University of Georgia.

The Press office and distribution center are both  open again—but not yet fully staffed. Roads are still icy and our office hours today are short. We hope to be back up to full speed on Monday! Stay safe and warm.

The Press is closed due to snow- and ice-storms

Arch in Snow (2011).
Andrew Davis Tucker, University of Georgia

Both our main office and distribution center are closed until further notice due to some severe winter weather. Best wishes for warmth and safety to all of our UGA and Athens friends!

UGA Press exhibit of Mary Ruth Moore's photographs

Today's post is by guest blogger, Erin Kirk New. New is art director and designer at the University of Georgia Press.


Over the last year, we have featured work by local artists in our office lobby, which is located on the third floor of the University of Georgia's Main Library. We began with artist Philip Juras, who loaned three of his landscape paintings to the press. The paintings, Connelly Creek, Little Tennessee River Valley, and Fork Mountain Trail, were exhibited through last June. We followed that with three paintings by Vivian Liddell: Quatresteps, Earthly Delights, and Feather Baby. Those paintings have just come down, and we are pleased to announce a new exhibit.

Through June 2014, we will have on display three photographs by Mary Ruth Moore, senior lecturer at the UGA Lamar Dodd School of Art. The photographs were taken using the 1900 studio camera restored by Dr. Robert Nix.

Cornered, Mary Ruth Moore.
Large-format studio camera, vintage 1900.
A traditional silver gelatin print,
contact printed from the 10x8-inch paper
negative,was scanned and digitally presented.
South Oconee County, Georgia. Fall, 2010

When I was a student in the Lamar Dodd School of Art, I had the great pleasure of taking a photography class in which students built two pinhole cameras, used an antique studio camera, and worked with 35mm film. I felt such a sense of accomplishment in building functioning cameras out of balsa wood and chipboard. Mary Ruth Moore and Dr. Nix encouraged students to have the patience to wait for long exposures that revealed soft and mysterious images. The reward was worth the wait!





According to Moore:

The studio camera is 8x10 inch format, vintage 1900. The negative is single-weight, low contrast paper that Kodak no longer makes. The exposures are quite long, from ten minutes to several hours, because the photographic paper responds to light very slowly. The old lens, paper negative, and long exposure, contribute toward a distinct character in the final print: a delicate grain and luminosity.

Photographers spend a lot of time waiting. We wait for the light. We wait out the exposure. We wait for the image to "come up" in the developer. Waiting is important. It may be when we do our most creative thinking.

Grape Shot, Mary Ruth Moore.
Large-format studio camera, vintage 1900.
The grape shot hit Great Grandpa
during the Battle of Malvern Hill, 1862.
He brought it home.
Photographed in early morning light
at an east window.
A traditional silver gelatin print, contact
printed from the 10x8-inch paper negative,
was scanned and digitally presented.
South Oconee County, Georgia. Spring

Mary Ruth Moore has taught photography in the Lamar Dodd School of Art since 1975. She discovered photography by building a pinhole camera in the 1970s in Dr. Nix's beginning photography class. Her recent work concerns a found box converted into a pinhole camera. Before her return to the pinhole her obsession was aged bottles, which were photographed with a 1900 vintage large-format view camera using paper negatives in daylight. Other cameras have included a Nikon FM, outfited with a pinhole as well as a lens, black/white and color film.

Teeth and Toilet Water. Mary Ruth Moore.
Large-format studio camera, vintage 1900.
A traditional silver gelatin print,
contact printed from the 10x8-inch paper
negative, was scanned and digitally presented.
South Oconee County, Georgia. Fall, 2010

Moore's work has been featured on the covers of several UGA Press books, including THE RIDDLE SONG AND OTHER REMEMBERINGS by Rebecca MClanahan, AND VENUS IS BLUE by Mary Hood, and CROSSING WILDCAT RIDGE by Phillip Lee Williams. Her photograph "The Ride" was acquired in 2013 by the Georgia Museum of Art.

Short Takes

Savannah Morning News interviews editors Leslie M. Harris and Daina Ramey Berry about their new book, SLAVERY AND FREEDOM IN SAVANNAH.

When it comes to enslavement, Savannah had some patterns that are distinctive among other Southern cities, Harris says. For example, there were more women enslaved than men in Savannah.
“We’re not sure why,” Harris says. “It’s probably because of the necessity for the upkeep of houses in Savannah.
“Another thing Savannah has the distinction for is that we often think of large anonymous cities, but Savannah is fairly small and slaves lived in close proximity with their owners,” she says. “A smaller number of slaves living in close proximity to whites creates intimacy. However, that doesn’t mean it was easier for slaves in Savannah than in other cities.”

Kirkus Reviews calls AMERICAN AFTERLIFE "[i]ntriguing," since it provides readers with "eccentric swatches of everyday Americans grappling with the intricacies of death."

SOUTHERN CIVIL RELIGIONS author Arthur Remillard co-wrote an op-ed for last Friday's Washington Post. Check out the article on religion vs. sports here.

Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, BREAKING GROUND, was interviewed by Tavis Smiley for his radio program, the weekend of January 24. In case you missed it, listen to the podcast here.

BREAKING GROUND was featured in the February 2 edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The piece contained an excerpt from the first chapter of the book, as well as many photos of Dr. Sullivan. The article is available online. (Must have an AJC subscription to view.)

Library Journal reviews BREAKING GROUND, calling Dr. Sullivan "an engaging narrator as well as a passionate advocate for his beloved Morehouse and a variety of public health initiatives." This book "will entertain and inspire."


 

Among his many ongoing appearances, Dr. Sullivan  signed books at the Heritage Fund of Atlanta Medical Association 2014 Scholarship and Inaugural Ball on January 25. Here are some photos from that event.

-------

Paul Pressly signs copies of his book, ON THE RIM OF THE CARIBBEAN

Andrea Feeser, author of RED, WHITE,
AND BLACK MAKE BLUE

Ashley Callahan, author of SOUTHERN TUFTS
(forthcoming), with a Frankie Welch Georgia
peanut dress designed for the Carter
Administration

On February 1, the Georgia Museum of Art hosted the seventh Henry D. Green Symposium of the Decorative Arts. A few of our authors spoke at the event. Here are a few photos of the presenters, courtesy of our director, Lisa Bayer.

Announcing the Loraine Williams Horizon Award for Manuscripts in Georgia History, Culture, and Letters

The University of Georgia Press is pleased to announce the new Loraine Williams Horizon Award for Manuscripts in Georgia History, Culture, and Letters. The award honors Loraine Williams, an Atlanta-based philanthropist and patron of the arts. Manuscripts considered for the Horizon Award may deal with any aspect of State of Georgia history, culture, and letters. Manuscripts dealing with such cultural matters as literature and the arts are eligible, provided that in such cases the methodology is historical. Biographies of individuals whose careers illuminate aspects of the history of the state are eligible. The winning author receives a cash award of $500 and, after successful editorial review, a publication contract with the University of Georgia Press.

To compete for this award, manuscripts must emphasize research in primary and secondary sources and demonstrate a commitment to scholarly narrative writing that also appeals to more general readers.

Deadline for submissions is April 30, 2014. There are no application forms. Please follow instructions below for submissions:

2014 Award Submission Guidelines
• Telephone queries are not permitted.
• Fiction, poetry, memoirs, and works of article length are not eligible.
• It is recommended that recently-defended dissertations be revised with publication in mind.
• Manuscripts must be postmarked by April 30, 2014.
• Manuscripts may be submitted in hard copy or digitally. Hard copies should be submitted in double-spaced, 12-point New Times Roman font; the physical address follows below. Online submissions will be accepted only through Submittable (https://georgiapress.submittable.com/submit); manuscripts will not be accepted by email attachment.
• Manuscripts must be no shorter than 40,000 words and no longer than 90,000 words, including notes and ancillaries.
• All submissions should include a current curriculum vitae, an overview of the project, and the complete manuscript including all illustrations and supplementary materials. The overview (one to two pages) must address the scope, focus, and purpose of the work, as well as a statement of the work’s thesis and conclusions, its place in the relevant historiography, and any new or underutilized primary source materials or innovative methodologies that shape it.
• Portions of submitted manuscripts may have appeared previously in journals or edited collections, but previously published monographs will not be considered.
• Manuscripts simultaneously submitted for publication consideration at other presses are not eligible for the award.
• By submitting to the competition the author warrants that he or she is allowing the University of Georgia Press the right of first refusal to publish the manuscript.
• Submissions that do not receive the Loraine Williams Horizon Award for Manuscripts in Georgia History, Culture, and Letters may also be considered for book publication.
• Hard copies of manuscripts will not be returned and will be recycled after the competition.
• The prize be awarded annually; however, the Press reserves the right to make no award in any given year.

The winning author will be contacted directly and the Loraine Williams Horizon Awards for Manuscripts in Georgia History, Culture, and Letters will be announced in November 2014 at the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame (http://www.georgiawritershalloffame.org/). The winning manuscript will be published in Fall 2015.

We urge scholars who know of eligible manuscripts written by others to inform those authors of the opportunity. An award committee of three judges will select the winning manuscript. Please do not call the Press to check on the status of your submission. The decision of the judges is final.


Send hard copies of all of the materials called for Award Submission Guidelines to:

The University of Georgia Press
ATTN: Loraine Williams Horizon Award for Manuscripts in Georgia History, Culture, and Letters
Main Library, Third Floor
320 South Jackson Street
Athens, Georgia 30602


Since its founding in 1938, the primary mission of the University of Georgia Press has been to support and enhance the University’s place as a major research institution by publishing outstanding works of scholarship and literature by scholars and writers throughout the world.

The University of Georgia Press is the oldest and largest book publisher in the state. We currently publish sixty to seventy new books a year and have a long history of publishing significant scholarship, creative and literary works, and books about the state and the region for general readers.

Upcoming events for BREAKING GROUND

Mark your calendars for one or more of these upcoming events for BREAKING GROUND: MY LIFE IN MEDICINE by Dr. Louis W. Sullivan. Written with David Chanoff and featuring a foreword by Ambassador Andrew Young, BREAKING GROUND is the compelling life’s story of a towering champion of higher education, medicine, and accessible health care for all.

Monday, February 10 @ 4:00 PM
Location: Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Description: Talk and Signing

Tuesday, February 11 @ 11:30 AM-1:00 PM
Location: University of Massachusetts Medical School, Albert Sherman Center, Worcester, MA
Description: Talk and Signing

Thursday, February 13 @ 7:00 PM
Location: Regis College, College Hall Foyer, Weston, MA
Description:  Lecture and Signing

Saturday, February 15 @ 11:00 AM-1:00 PM
Location: Morehouse College, Ray Charles Performing Arts Center, Atlanta, GA (Founders Weekend)
Description: Talk and Signing

Monday, February 17 @ 11:00 AM-1:00 PM
Location: Morehouse School of Medicine, Louis W. Sullivan National Center for Primary Care, Atlanta, GA
Description: Signing

Thursday, February 20 @ 7:00 PM
Location: Barnes and Noble, Buckhead, Atlanta, GA
Description: Talk and Signing

Saturday, February 22 @ 10:00 AM-12:00 PM 
Location: Association for the Study of African American Life and History Luncheon, Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, DC
Description: Signing

Thursday, February 27 @ 7:00 PM
Location: Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, Theater, Atlanta, GA
Description: Talk and Signing

>Saturday, March 22 @ 3:00 PMLocation: Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, Atlanta, GA >Description: Signing
Thursday, March 27 @ 6:45 PM (MST)
Location: Association of Healthcare Journalists Conference, Grand Hyatt Denver, Denver, CO
Description: Keynote and Signing

Sunday, March 30 @ TBA
Location: Newseum, Washington, DC
Description: Television Interview and Signing

Tuesday, April 8 @ 7:00 PM
Location: Barnes and Noble, Framingham, Framingham, MA
Description: Talk and Signing