University of Nebraska Press

Doc Martyn’s Soul: A Month in New York – Or so it Seemed

One of the things about the publishing industry that I most enjoy is traveling to conferences and meetings and spending time engaging in conversation with fellow publishing professionals, learning from their experiences, sharing information that is mutually beneficial, and observing what others are doing so that I might embrace new opportunities.

In the past month or so, I have been fortunate enough to spend a couple of weeks in New York City; a week for sales conferences and meetings, and a week for BookExpo America (BEA). The two trips differed in many respects and yet shared the traits listed above that I so appreciate. Discussing our 2013 Fall/Winter list with our sales reps and buyers allows one to delve into the forthcoming titles and engage with people who share an interest in discussing what a book is about and for which target audiences a particular book is best suited. I do not view these meetings as sales events (even though that is quite blatantly what they are) but more as opportunities to meet people who ultimately have the direct contact with readers from which we, as publishers, are somewhat withdrawn. My goal is, obviously, to convince a buyer or sales rep to support what we are doing by buying and selling our books. At the same time, my goal is also to energize these same people about our books in ways beyond simply the bottom line of sales. I want them to like our books, to know our books, to feel connected to what we publish in a more meaningful way. Getting buyers and sales reps to that stage is where the real challenge lies.

Less than two weeks later, I was back in the big city. Attending and displaying at BEA is a joy in and of itself. We have all trotted out the time-worn line, the weary look that says we’re hard-bitten, long-time attendees of this great trade show. But when I stop and really think about it or take a step back while I am there, the BEA doesn’t deserve that treatment; it is, quite simply, a lot of fun. Putting so many book people—whether publishers, readers, booksellers, librarians, or service-providers—in the same room and filling it with books creates an invigorating and rejuvenating environment. I walk into the show room on that first morning and once the crowds start filing in, I realize once again just how fortunate we are to provide people with the enjoyment that we all derive from reading books. As the show progresses and you meet people new and familiar, you find yourself discussing so many different topics, all of which are, at the heart of them, designed to push forward and find new and better ways of doing what we do. BEA is a trade show, but it is so much more, too. Submissions are taken, deals struck, sales made, serendipitous interactions occur, and by the end of it all, my notebook is full of reminders, promises, and ideas of which I hope to take advantage.

So, while at the time the travel seemed long, the time away from home unending, looking back, those two short weeks have done far more than they even promised. That time has once again recharged my batteries, given me a million ideas to ponder, introduced me to new people who I look forward to creating long-lasting relationships with, and sent me back to Nebraska ready to take on the challenges of marketing our incredible list of titles to the larger world.

-Martyn

Review roundup

Island of Bones by Joy Castro in the Portland Book Review

“Through it all, Castro continues to struggle with questions of identity and membership: do I really belong, and where, and to whom? Who am I, really? Her search for the truth of her own life is given to us in honest, eloquent, and insightful prose. That we are given her story in fragments seems exactly right, for she’s clear: her journey is not yet over."

-Daniel Hobbs

 

Mr. Wrigley’s Ball Club by Roberts Ehrgott in The Tampa Tribune

“Mr. Wrigley’s Ball Club is an informative, focused look at a team that thrived in a rollicking era of major-league baseball.”

-Bob D'Angelo 

 

 

 

The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig in The Washington Times

“Readers of “The World of Yesterday” know that for the tormented Stefan Zweig, the contrast between even his today and yesterday was acutely painful. How could he not feel that the tomorrow awaiting him was bound to be unbearable?”

-Martin Rubin

 

 

From Gods to God by Avigdor Shinan and Yair Zakovitch in the Jewish Book Council

“The topics and personalities analyzed are fascinating. The authors demonstrate familiarity with multiple forms of exegesis as well as knowledge of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. The book is well written, well researched, and offers a challenging look at many significant Biblical stories and personalities.”

                           –Wallace Greene

From the desk of Mary K. Stillwell

Mary K. Stillwell is the author of the first-ever biography of Ted Kooser, available this September. Below she writes about Kooser receiving the Mark Twain Award. 

Ted Kooser, Nebraska’s Pulitzer Prize-winning former U.S. poet laureate, traveled to Michigan State in early May 2013 to receive the prestigious Mark Twain Award from the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature. I was pleased to be in the attendance as Jeffrey Hotz, associate professor of English, East Stroudsburg University, presented the award at a special luncheon held in conjunction with the group’s annual conference.  Hotz noted that Kooser’s career, “defined by critical acclaim, popular appreciation, and admiration from fellow poets,” has been based on a trifecta of success: “writing poems of the highest order, valuing his readers, and doing his best to make reading poetry part of Americans’ everyday lives.”

Ted Kooser, following the presentation of the Mark Twain Award at the SSML Luncheon, May 11, 2013. (Photograph by Julie Knoeller, Purdue University.)

Hotz went on to say that “Kooser’s career has been inspiring.” In addition to two prose works, Local Wonders: Seasons in the Bohemian Alps and Lights on a Ground of Darkness, both published by the University of Nebraska Press, Kooser is the author of twelve volumes of poetry, a handbook for writing poetry, a graphic novel, and two children’s books. In all of his work, Hotz observed, Kooser “writes about small [Midwestern] communities … [with] a sense of genuine connection… The sense and dignity of people’s lives, whether suffering or in moments of joy and pleasure, remain an overarching them of his work.”  

Given annually since 1980, the Mark Twain Award recognizes an outstanding body of creative work by a Midwestern resident. Recent winners have included Louis Erdrich, Jane Hamilton, and Scott Russell Sanders.

The luncheon was followed by a Conversation with Ted Kooser, moderated by Hotz and attended by conference attendees and students.  The program opened with a showing of Dan Butler’s film adaptation of Kooser’s poem “Pearl.” Then the poet answered questions, talked about his career as a writer, and read from his work. 

Ted Kooser reading from his Pulitzer Prize-winning collection, Delights & Shadows. (Photograph by Margaret Rozga, Professor of English Emerita, University of Wisconsin Waukesha.)

Earlier in the day, I participated in a conference session highlighting current Kooser criticism in a variety of genres. Hotz, a longtime admirer of the poet’s work, spoke on “Environmental Ethics and Community Vision in Ted Kooser’s Children's Fiction.”  Other scholars included Phillip Howerton of Missouri State University in West Plains, who spoke on “The Poetry of Ted Kooser and the Politics of Diminishment,” and Margaret Rozga of University of Wisconsin at Waukesha, who gave a personal account titled “Repairing Poems with Ted Kooser’s Poetry Home Repair Manual.”  An expanded version of my paper, “Cosmic Consciousness and the Education of Ted Kooser,” which focuses on the poet’s early years at the University of Nebraska and his study with poet and Prairie Schooner editor Karl Shapiro, will appear in The Life and Poetry of Ted Kooser, to be published this September by UNP. What a good day for poetry!

-Mary K. Stillwell

Bookish Links and Delightful Miscellany

Shall we?

• Book Expo America (BEA) is going on right now in New York. To learn more about it or find out what's hot and happening, check out Wikipedia, the official Facebook page, the Huffington Post, or Twitter (#bea13 or @UnivNebPress).
• Speaking of BEA, the winner of the Publishing Hackathon is scheduled to be announced today (May 31). I'm particularly intrigued by BookCity. In fact, I had a conversation with Richard Nash (Am I the only one who considers this name-dropping? I totally feel like I'm name-dropping.) at TOCCON a couple of years ago where we talked about how cool it would be to have a book recommendation engine based on your current location. 
  
• The Judy Blume novel Tiger Eyes has been made into a movie. Who doesn't love Judy Blume? No one, that's who.
  

  Tiger Eyes - Trailer from Tashmoo Productions on Vimeo.

• The Cocktail Chart of Film & Literature (Anyone else getting a little thirsty?)
• This book looks gorgeous. Do I want the print version or the ebook?
  
• Watch this: Disney artists show their various painting techniques through a nature study
  

Review roundup

Body Geographic by Barrie Jean Borich in The Rumpus

“In all, Body Geographic navigates fluidly between recovery narrative, travelogue, family legend (in both the literary and cartographic senses of the word), and coming-of-(middle)age story, and in so doing posits a new telling (or re-mapping) of the American story.” -Molly Beer

 

 

From the Caxton Press, On the Dark Side of the Moon by Mike Medberry in Terrain.org

“Mike Medberry has written a slim volume of a memoir that’s a victory in many ways. This environmentalist and writer—in his first book—offers to the reader a story of debility and recovery, a journey he experienced following a stroke in April of 2000 that left him helplessly lying on the rocks of Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. But On the Dark Side of the Moon: A Journey Toward Recovery is more than just a book about a man struggling to regain health.” -Andrew C. Gottlieb

 

Bridging Two Dynasties by Lyle Spatz in the Tampa Tribune

“This is a well-researched, informative book that puts a pivotal year of Yankees history into proper perspective. New York had flashier stars, better pitchers and hitters and gaudier statistics in other years, but the 1947 squad deserves some respect, too. Spatz and his colleagues provide the evidence.” - Bob D'Angelo

 

Philadelphia’s Top 50 Baseball Players by Rich Westcott in the Baseball Almanac

“This book is a delight both for fans of Philadelphia baseball and fans of baseball itself. Prolific author Rich Westcott has assembled five-page reflections on each of Philadelphia’s top 50 players. The list extends from the Pioneers (pre-1900) to the greatest players of the Modern Era (1971-2012). In-between are looks at Philadelphia legends which are sure to strike the nostalgia keys and bring back memories of great names whom one has seen play or whose exploits have been read about through the years.” -Dr. McKim

501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read Before They Die by Ron Kaplan in Baseball Almanac

“Kaplan's abilities make this book live up to a line about it on the back cover: ‘Anyone who loves to read about baseball will find in this book a companionable guide, far more fun than a reference work has any right to be.’ This book is definitely worth acquiring for yourself. In a number of ways it will be interesting and valuable. It will also keep you busy with ‘must reads’…for a long time!” - Dr. McKim

Island of Bones by Joy Castro in Portland Book Review

“Through it all, Castro continues to struggle with questions of identity and membership: do I really belong, and where, and to whom? Who am I, really? Her search for the truth of her own life is given to us in honest, eloquent, and insightful prose.” -Daniel Hobbs

 

 

Smokey Joe Wood by Gerald C. Wood on Cleveland.com

“Gerald C. Wood (no relation), author of this first full-scale biography of "Smoky Joe" Wood, delivers an impeccably researched and poignant account of a great athlete and even greater man.”- Mark Hodermarsky

 

 

The Marketeers Club: Little Bison in the Big Apple

Bright lights, tall buildings, and people bustling about: in the city that never sleeps, a small bison named Benny left the familiar Great Plains in order to conquer the book publishing world.

The idea of sending Benny to New York first came up in early April. The University of Nebraska Press (UNP) marketeers decided we needed to send a representative to New York City to promote the Press along with our imprint, Bison Books. Benny had dreamed of going to New York ever since he was a calf, and finally, here was his chance.  

Benny traveled to New York City during the first week in May, to promote UNP’s new Fall titles to various publications and clients. Benny was a little sad that he would be missing the lovely Spring weather Nebraska usually has in May. However, as May 1 approached, Nebraska encountered cold temperatures and snow. Benny wasn’t so reluctant to leave anymore, because the East Coast was being faced with a forecast of sunshine and heat, which was his favorite kind of weather!

So off Benny went, flying from one city to the next until he finally landed in the Big Apple. There was so much he wanted to do and so much he wanted to see! His first stop was at one of the most well-known spots in NYC, the place where all tourists go: Times Square.

From the desk of Larry Ruttman

Author Larry Ruttman describes his impressions about his book signing at the 92Y
. 

I must be the luckiest man alive! Imagine having the most exciting night of your life at age eighty-two. Not that my fifty-year career as a lawyer was boring. But, as an author you feel the love and admiration coming right at you during every encounter. And so it was when I took the stage at the iconic 92nd Street Y in New York City on Monday, May 13, alongside the irrepressible Alan Dershowitz, film critic and Renaissance man; Jeffrey Lyons; and former lefty Major League pitcher and convert to Judaism Bob Tufts, to discuss my new book, American Jews and America's Game: Voices of a Growing Legacy in Baseball. The fast-paced, fun-filled, laugh-provoking yet serious discussion of baseball, and the place of Jews in it, was followed by a host of questions from the overflow audience, demonstrating how much their interest and enthusiasm had been aroused. A big hand at the conclusion! All four of us on stage were rushed by well-wishers in the audience. Dershowitz and Tufts, feet dangling, answered yet more questions, while Lyons and I did the same, leaning into the crowd below. Then pictures and handshakes among the four of us. Being led away through the approving crowd in the lobby to a table where folks lined up for me to sign copies of my book. Smiles both ways as each approached. Amiable and reminiscent conversation with each person, followed by an inscription to fit the wish of each and my thankful signature. Books were even purchased by the 92Y staff. My wife and friends nearby with hugs and warmth. The work of six years rewarded by such a successful event!

- Larry Ruttman

Photo caption from left to right: Alan Dershowitz, Jeffrey Lyons, Larry Ruttman

From the desk of Barbara Loeb

Barbara Loeb is the co-editor of The Woman Who Loved Mankind by Lilian Bullshows Hogan, the fascinating life story of a 20th-century Crow woman elder. Loeb and Mardell Plainfeather set out to tell Hogan's story in traditional Crow storytelling forms. 

When Mardell Plainfeather and I recorded the life story of Mardell’s elderly Crow Indian mother, Lillian Bullshows Hogan, I wanted to write Lillian’s stories the way she talked. No easy task, but my quest led me to the idea that oral storytelling is performance, so it was important to follow the rhythms of Lillian’s voice, changing to a new line each time she paused. That meant years of intense and detailed work—twenty years worth, to be exact—yet, despite of countless hours with these stories, I still find the stories fresh and relevant. 

Lately I have been pondering a small cluster of three particularly timely stories that address trans-gender issues. Crow people solved some of these dilemmas long ago. Women might follow a more masculine lifestyle if they choose, and men might become berdaches (men who dressed and lived as women).  Early church ministers, Indian agents, and other white authorities were uncomfortable with the idea of berdaches, and they harassed and humiliated them out of existence. The tradition disappeared, but Lillian’s family knew the last of the old-time Crow berdaches quite well. He lived until 1929. In the Apsáalooke language his name was Ohchikapdaapesh, or Ochiich, for short. In English his name meant Finds Them and Kills Them. Ochiich was a respected warrior who wore men’s clothing in battle but lived much of his life as a woman. He was a good cook and a skilled beader, and he almost always wore a dress and other women’s garments. 

Lillian described this traditional berdache, as well as her memories of his visits to her family. She recalled his fun-filled teasing and the oranges and other goodies he brought to her and her brother whenever he came for a visit. She also recounted one of his military accomplishments, and she told a moving story of a confrontation between Agent Estep, the white man who enforced harsh federal polices on the reservation, and Chief Plenty Coups, the last of the tribe’s great old-time chiefs. Estep called Ochiich into his office and attempted to force him into more masculine ways, but Chief Plenty Coups made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that Ochiich had a place in Crow society just the way he was. If you would like to read the story of Ochiich, Agent Estep, and Chief Plenty Coups click here. 

-Barbara Loeb

Bookish Links and Delightful Miscellany

Let's hit it:

• 8-year-old's invention for keeping books dry in the bath
• Travel back in time with the WIRED Media Kit from 1992
• Britain's most remote bookshop is for sale
• History of Typography
• Which Shakespeare Character are You?
• This is a Bookshop
  
  
  
• The Jacket Racket: Vintage Book Cover Design

From the desk of Ray A. March

Ray A. March is the author of River in Ruin, which discusses the history of the Carmel River since the arrival of Europeans to the Monterey Peninsula in the 1700s, focusing on its uses, users, and the recent impact of development. March was quoted on 90.3 KAZU Public Radio and below he comments on the recent approval to remove the San Clemente Dam. 

History has been made in California with the recent official approval to decommission the San Clemente Dam on the Monterey Peninsula’s Carmel River.

The 106-foot-high dam, scheduled for demolition beginning this summer, will be the largest dam removal project ever undertaken in the state.

The decision to remove the dam came on a unanimous vote of the Monterey County Planning Commission and ended more than 15 years of yo-yo debates and delays that frequently left the public wondering where its future water was going to come from and for how long.

During a week-long speaking and book-signing tour of the Monterey Peninsula—as part of the promotional campaign last year for River in Ruin: The Story of the Carmel River—it was immediately apparent to me that for the most part the residents of the fabled region had no idea that the little Carmel River was their main source of domestic water.

 But, they asked questions. They showed serious concern and more than once they hoped River in Ruin held all the answers.

“I’m afraid I don’t have the answers,” I told them. “I’m the messenger. You have to find the answers to your water problems by getting involved, by taking action. It’s up to you if you want to save your river.”

The ultimate fall of the San Clemente Dam will not only restore the Carmel River’s fish and ecological habitat, it will also restore the confidence of the people of the Monterey Peninsula that they can make a difference.

-Ray A. March