West Virginia University Press
{{Infobox publisher
| name = West Virginia University Press
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| parent = West Virginia University
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| country = United States
| headquarters = Morgantown, West Virginia
| distribution = Chicago Distribution Center{{Cite web| title = Publishers served by the Chicago Distribution Center| work = University of Chicago Press| accessdate = 2017-09-12| url = http://press.uchicago.edu/cdc/publishers.html}}
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| publications = Books, academic journals, digital media
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| url = {{URL|http://www.wvupressonline.com}}
}}{{Short description|American university press and publisher}}
West Virginia University Press (WVU Press) is a university press and publisher in the state of West Virginia. A part of West Virginia University, the press publishes books and journals with a particular emphasis on Appalachian studies, history, higher education, the social sciences, and interdisciplinary books about energy, environment, and resources.{{Cite news|url=http://www.wvgazettemail.com/life/20170218/wv-book-team-wvu-press-releases-from-politics-to-pepperoni-rolls|title=WV Book Team: WVU press releases, from politics to pepperoni rolls|newspaper=Charleston Gazette-Mail|access-date=2017-02-19}} The press also has a small but highly regarded program in fiction and creative nonfiction, including Deesha Philyaw's The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, winner of the 2021 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction,{{Cite web|title=The Secret Lives of Church Ladies {{!}} The PEN/Faulkner Foundation|url=https://www.penfaulkner.org/2021/02/18/the-secret-lives-of-church-ladies/|access-date=2021-05-13|language=en-US}} winner of the Story Prize 2020/21,{{Cite web|title=The Story Prize|url=http://thestoryprize.org/|access-date=2021-05-14|website=The Story Prize|language=en-US}} winner of the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction,{{Cite web|date=2021-04-17|title=L.A. Times 41st Book Prizes Winners Announced|url=https://www.latimes.com/about/pressreleases/story/2021-04-16/l-a-times-41st-book-prizes-winners-announced|access-date=2021-05-14|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}} and a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction in 2020.{{Cite news|last=Charles|first=Ron|date=October 6, 2020|title=The 2020 National Book Awards finalists are a strikingly fresh group|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/the-2020-national-book-awards-finalists-are-a-strikingly-fresh-group/2020/10/05/a926ba8e-0676-11eb-a166-dc429b380d10_story.html|access-date=October 9, 2020}} John Warner wrote in the Chicago Tribune, "If you are wondering what the odds are of a university press book winning three major awards, being a finalist for a fourth, and going to a series on a premium network, please know that this is the only example."{{Cite web|last=Warner|first=John|title=Opinion: Deesha Philyaw's 'Secret Lives of Church Ladies' best publishing story of the year, but who else is going unrecognized?|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/books/ct-books-biblioracle-0516-20210510-umq3ckbemfcr3kjjvi2nxuqwey-story.html|access-date=2021-05-14|website=chicagotribune.com|date=10 May 2021 }} In 2021, another of WVU Press's works of fiction, Jim Lewis's Ghosts of New York, was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.{{Cite news |date=2021-11-22 |title=100 Notable Books of 2021 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/11/22/books/notable-books.html |access-date=2022-05-02 |issn=0362-4331}} WVU Press also collaborates on digital publications, notably West Virginia History: An Open Access Reader.
In The Chronicle of Higher Education, Rachel Toor described the press as "a new publishing heavyweight."{{Cite web |title=Scholars Talk Writing: A Big Book From a Little Press |url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/scholars-talk-writing-a-big-book-from-a-little-press |access-date=2021-06-28 |website=www.chronicle.com|date=28 June 2021 }} The press has also been described as "a small but intellectually ambitious press that prides itself on placing regional issues in dialogue with global concerns."{{Cite journal|last1=Blanchette|first1=Alex|last2=LaFlamme|first2=Marcel|date=2019|title=Introduction: An Anthropological Almanac of Rural Americas|url=https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/nad.12119|journal=Journal for the Anthropology of North America|language=en|volume=22|issue=2|pages=52–62|doi=10.1002/nad.12119|s2cid=213600208 |issn=2475-5389|url-access=subscription}} Writing in the New York Times, Margaret Renkl cited two titles from West Virginia University Press as evidence that "University Presses Are Keeping American Literature Alive."{{Cite news |last=Renkl |first=Margaret |date=2022-11-14 |title=Opinion {{!}} University Presses Are Keeping American Literature Alive |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/opinion/university-presses-american-literature.html |access-date=2022-11-24 |issn=0362-4331}}
West Virginia University Press is part of the Association of University Presses.{{cite web |title=Our Members |url=https://aupresses.org/membership/membership-list/ |access-date=January 30, 2023 |publisher=Association of University Presses}}{{Cite web|url=http://wvutoday.wvu.edu/n/2003/04/23/1793|title=WVU Press voted into prestigious national association|website=WVUToday|access-date=2016-06-14}}
West Virginia University Press maintains Booktimist, a blog about books and culture, at https://booktimist.com/.
History
West Virginia University Press was founded in the mid-1960s by Dean of Libraries Dr. Robert Munn, during which time it focused on publishing bibliographies and histories of the coal industry.
In 1999, the press was relocated to within the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences under the direction of Dr. Patrick Conner. In 2008, Carrie Mullen took over leadership of the press as director.{{cite web | url=https://laurennp.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/2008fall_eberlymagazine_newambassadorofwvupress.pdf | title=The New Ambassador of WVU Publishing | date=2009 | author=Lauren Peretti}}
In 2014, Derek Krissoff, previously editor in chief at the University of Nebraska Press, began his tenure as director.{{Cite web|url=http://wvutoday.wvu.edu/n/2014/10/08/wvu-press-director-named|title=WVU Press director named|website=WVUToday|access-date=2016-06-14}} In a forum on the future of the university press in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Krissoff said "The book is necessary and important—and, while it's hardly a static artifact, it's proved remarkably durable. Books are also expensive, especially in terms of the skilled labor necessary to acquire and market them. But they're worth it."{{cite journal|url=http://www.chronicle.com/article/What-is-the-biggest-challenge/240210?cid=cp118|title=What is the biggest challenge in university-press publishing?|journal=The Chronicle of Higher Education|date=4 June 2017}} Krissoff resigned in May, 2023. Sarah Munroe became interim director, and resigned in September, 2023.
Publishing categories
The press publishes books in fiction and nonfiction, as well as in the following scholarly areas:{{cite web |title=Books - West Virginia University Press |url=http://wvupressonline.com/books |website=wvupressonline.com}}{{cite web |date=Fall 2015 |title=EX LIBRIS -- WVU magazine |url=https://lib.wvu.edu/about/exlibris/fall_2015.pdf}}{{cite web |title=Project MUSE - Browse |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/browse/publishers/wvu |website=muse.jhu.edu}}
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- African American literature
- Appalachian studies
- art
- digital writing & literature
- energy and environment
- geography
- history
- medieval studies
- music
- natural history
- sociology
- sports
- West Virginia
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Notable books
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- Anthony Harkins and Meredith McCarroll's edited collection Appalachian Reckoning: A Region Responds to Hillbilly Elegy{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/25/books/review-appalachian-reckoning-region-responds-hillbilly-elegy.html|title='Hillbilly Elegy' Had Strong Opinions About Appalachians. Now, Appalachians Return the Favor.|last=Garner|first=Dwight|date=2019-02-25|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-08-21|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite book|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/anthony-harkins/appalachian-reckoning/|title=APPALACHIAN RECKONING by Anthony Harkins , Meredith McCarroll {{!}} Kirkus Reviews}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.the-tls.co.uk/s3/tls-prod/uploads/2019/05/Classi-29-5.pdf|title=Not Dead, Just Poor: Answering back to Claims about a Region|last=Stern|first=Scott W.|date=May 31, 2019|work=The Times Literary Supplement|access-date=2019-08-21}}
- Muriel Rukeyser's long poem The Book of the Dead in a new edition{{Cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-946684-21-9|title=Fiction Book Review: The Book of the Dead|website=www.publishersweekly.com|access-date=2019-08-21}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thegeorgiareview.com/posts/on-the-book-of-the-dead-by-muriel-rukeyser/|title=on The Book of the Dead by Muriel Rukeyser by Jessica Smith|website=www.thegeorgiareview.com|date=10 December 2018 |access-date=2019-08-21}}
- Greg Bottoms's Lowest White Boy{{Cite web|url=https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/quick-lit-lowest-white-boy-by-greg-bottoms/Content?oid=27544008|title=Quick Lit: 'Lowest White Boy' by Greg Bottoms|last=Harrison|first=Margot|website=Seven Days|access-date=2019-08-21}}{{Cite magazine|url=https://harpers.org/archive/2019/07/pinball-wizard/|title=Pinball Wizard|last=Bottoms|first=Greg|date=July 2019|magazine=Harper's Magazine|access-date=2019-08-21|issn=0017-789X}}
- Tom Hansell's After Coal{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailyyonder.com/review-coal-two-regions-share-lessons-loss-hopes-renewal/2018/10/10/|title=Review {{!}} After Coal: Two Regions Share Lessons of Loss and Hopes for Renewal|date=2018-10-10|website=Daily Yonder|access-date=2019-08-21}}
- Joshua R. Eyler's How Humans Learn: The Science and Stories behind Effective College Teaching{{Cite web|url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/beautiful-questions-how-humans-learn-and-the-future-of-education/|title=Beautiful Questions: "How Humans Learn" and the Future of Education|last=Boyd|first=Ryan|website=Los Angeles Review of Books|date=27 May 2019 |access-date=2019-08-21}}
- Andrew and Alex Lichtenstein's Marked, Unmarked, Remembered{{cite web|url=https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2017/08/31/unearthing-americas-hidden-history/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog+Main&contentCollection=Multimedia&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs®ion=Body|title=Unearthing America's Hidden History|first=David|last=Gonzalez|publisher=|date=2017-08-31}}{{cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/columns-and-blogs/soapbox/article/74789-the-importance-of-scholarship.html|title=The Importance of Scholarship|publisher=}}
- Lee Maynard's Crum trilogy{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2012/08/03/157897147/crum-lee-maynards-love-letter-to-his-hometown|title=Crum: Lee Maynard's 'Love Letter' To His Hometown|website=NPR |publisher=}}
- Davitt McAteer's Monongah: The Tragic Story of the Worst Industrial Accident in US History{{cite journal|url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2008/09/25/night-comes-to-the-appalachians/|title=Night Comes to the Appalachians|journal=The New York Review of Books|first=Michael|last=Tomasky|date=25 September 2008|via=www.nybooks.com}}
- Eyes Glowing at the Edge of the Woods (an anthology){{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/poetry/returning-home-west-virginians-rewriting-poetry-appalachia/|title=Returning home, these West Virginians are rewriting the poetry of Appalachia|website=PBS NewsHour|date=2017-05-02}}
- Katharine Antolini's Memorializing Motherhood{{cite magazine|url=https://time.com/4775449/the-forgotten-parent-behind-mothers-day/|title=The Forgotten Parent Behind Mother's Day|magazine=Time}}
- Deesha Philyaw's The Secret Lives of Church Ladies{{cite web|url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/strong-and-certain-on-deesha-philyaws-the-secret-lives-of-church-ladies|title=Strong and Certain: On Deesha Philyaw's "The Secret Lives of Church Ladies"|website=Los Angeles Review of Books|date=12 November 2020}}
- Neema Avashia's Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain State{{Cite web |title=Another Appalachia |url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59249732-another-appalachia |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=www.goodreads.com}}
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Series
The press publishes series in the following areas:
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- Central Appalachian Natural History
- Energy and Society
- Histories of Capitalism and the Environment{{cite web|url=http://www.wvgazettemail.com/ae-books/20160626/wv-book-team-new-releases-explore-collision-of-environment-culture|title=WV Book Team: New releases explore collision of environment, culture|first=Abby|last=Freeland|date=26 June 2016 }}
- In Place{{cite web|url=http://www.wvgazettemail.com/life/20160508/wv-book-team-two-new-wvu-press-series-cross-into-global-conversations|title=WV Book Team: Two new WVU Press series cross into global conversations|first=Abby|last=Freeland|date=8 May 2016 }}
- Radical Natures
- Regenerations
- Rural Studies
- Sounding Appalachia
- Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
- West Virginia and Appalachia
- West Virginia Classics{{cite web|url=http://wvupressonline.com/series|title=Series from West Virginia University Press - West Virginia University Press|website=wvupressonline.com|date=2011-09-16}}
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= Open Access Reader =
In January 2016, WVU Press and WVU Libraries launched West Virginia History: An Open Access Reader as a free, online collection of previously published essays drawn from the journal West Virginia History and other WVU Press publications.{{cite web|url=http://marshallparthenon.com/8233/life/mu-wvu-history-professors-collaborate-on-open-access-reader-of-wv-history/|title=MU, WVU history professors collaborate on open access reader of WV history – The Parthenon|first=Amanda|last=Gibson|website=marshallparthenon.com|date=17 February 2016 }}
Journals
West Virginia Press publishes the following peer-reviewed journals in the humanities and education.{{cite web|url=http://wvupressonline.com/journals|title=West Virginia University Press Journals - West Virginia University Press|website=wvupressonline.com|date=2011-05-23}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/publisher/wvup|title=West Virginia University Press on JSTOR|website=www.jstor.org|access-date=2016-07-19}}
- Essays in Medieval Studies
- Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review
- Victorian Poetry
- West Virginia History: A Journal of Regional Studies
See also
{{Portal|Literature|West Virginia}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://wvupressonline.com/ Official website]
- [https://textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/index.html West Virginia History: An Open Access Reader]
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