the university of georgia press
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TH E UN I VER SIT Y of GE OR GIA PR E SS ANNUAL REPORT 2025–2026
STAFF Administrative Lisa Bayer, Director Elizabeth Adams, Rights and Licensing Manager and Assistant to the Director Business Sonja Hubbard, Fiscal Affairs Manager Stacey Hayes, Accounts Payable and Royalties Coordinator Acquisitions Nathaniel Holly, Editor-in-Chief Sarah Shermyen, Acquisitions Editor Raquel Thorne, Regional Trade Acquisitions Editor Anjelica Fabro, Assistant Acquisitions Editor Beth Snead, Editorial Assistant Editorial, Design, and Production Jon Davies, Assistant Director for Editorial, Design, and Production Melissa Bugbee Buchanan, Assistant Director of Publishing Operations Erin Kirk, Senior Designer and Art Director Rebecca Norton, Production Editor Laura Theobald, Production Editor Marketing and Sales Rachel Watkins, Marketing and Sales Director Jason Bennett, Publicity and Communications Manager Candice Lawrence, Assistant Publicity Manager Madison Mosely, Digital Publishing and Metadata Manager Laura Price, Marketing Content and Exhibits Coordinator New Georgia Encyclopedia Ed Hatfield, Managing Editor Kara Krewer, Assistant Editor Development Lee Snelling, Senior Director of Development Leandra Nessel, Associate Director of Development and Annual Giving
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Jason Bennett and Lynn Frierson Faust, author of Fireflies, Glow-worms, and Lightning Bugs, at the Southern Festival of Books, October 2025.
FY2026 at a Glance Books published: 61 Awards won: 18 Sales dollars: $2,261,679 Sales units: 133,544 Ebook sales: $237,620 Subsidiary rights and permissions: $96,925
LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR Dear Friends, I’m writing this on a hot day in Athens, as the summer, at least as we know it in college towns, draws to a close. There’s no rest for UGA Press, however. Over the past year, we have launched our new strategic plan, focusing on sustainable growth, digital capacity, strategic partnerships, reputational strength, and staff support. We published more than 60 new books, attended more than 25 conferences, and put more than 133,500 books into readers’ hands. We also diligently followed the often jarring growth of AI, looking for small, controlled opportunities while protecting the integrity of our intellectual property and the rights of our authors. Another quiet but significant change took place organizationally this year. After chairing our Advisory Council since 2023, Peggy Heard Galis stepped down at the end of June. (Please read a message from our incoming chair, Debbie Edwards, later in this report.) The Council’s second-ever chair, Peggy was reticent about being recruited into the role, but we couldn’t think of anyone better suited to follow Craig Barrow’s foundational leadership. And we were right. While at the helm, Chair Galis helped to plan and host legendary meetings in Montgomery, Alabama, and the north Georgia mountains, as well as in Athens, where we’ve been treated many times to gatherings in her historic home on Henderson Avenue. We’ve also added more than a half dozen new board members, ensuring the vigor and continuity of this critical group of Press supporters. In her twenty years on the Advisory Council, Peggy has directed innumerable authors, new friends, and attention our way. Every organization should have a Peggy Heard Galis, but you can’t have ours. I look forward to many more years of her wisdom on our Advisory Council. Thank you, Peggy. And thank you all for your interest in and support of the Press.
vision
Advancing knowledge for the public good.
mission
To publish innovative scholarship and compelling stories that inspire and inform the people of Georgia and the world.
values Integrity We publish trustworthy, quality scholarship and literature that fosters authenticity and pursues truth. Community We welcome many perspectives in an effort to build a better society and enhance civil discourse by connecting people with ideas and information. Stewardship We invest our resources conscientiously, applying our ethical foundation to make wise decisions about how best to use our assets. We follow the soundest practices and carefully curate our publications for the sustainability of the organization. Intellectual Freedom We encourage the open exploration and expression of ideas, inquiry, and information. Creativity and Innovation We embrace new forms of scholarship and expression and creative solutions to problems in support of excellence. We take thoughtful risks as we help to shape the future as part of the University of Georgia.
Press Advisory Council Chair Peggy Heard Galis speaks at the Spring 2026 meeting, Athens, Georgia. uga press annual report 2025–2026 • 3
ABOUT THE PRESS Since the founding of the University of Georgia Press in 1938, its primary mission 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 and serious books of interest to general readers, with special attention paid to the citizens of the state. The Press has been a member of the Association of University Presses since 1940 and is the oldest and largest book publisher in the state. With a full-time staff of twenty publishing professionals, the Press currently publishes 70 new books a year and has over 2,500 titles in print. The Press is also a founding partner of the New Georgia Encyclopedia, the state’s award-winning, online multimedia reference work on the people, places, events, and institutions of Georgia.
EDITORIAL BOARD As of June 30, 2026
“Serving on the Editorial
CHAIR
Board for the past three
Jennifer L. Rice Professor, Geography Director of Graduate Studies
years has been one of the most rewarding experiences
BOARD MEMBERS Akela Reason Associate Professor, History Director, Museum Studies Certificate Program Brian Allen Drake Principal Lecturer, History
in my fifteen years at UGA. Every project the Board reviews is thoughtful and interesting, often challenging and enriching our understanding of the complex and changing world. Perhaps most
Reinaldo L. Román Associate Professor, History
important, the Press supports a variety of projects
Welch Suggs Associate Professor, Journalism Associate Director, Carmical Sports Media Institute
analyses of Southern history to creative reinter-
Joshua Barkan Associate Professor, Geography Laura German Professor, Anthropology Director, Center for Integrative Conservation Research Audrey Haynes Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor Associate Professor, Political Science Director, Applied Politics Certificate Program Casie LeGette Associate Professor, English Undergraduate Coordinator
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from a diversity of authors ranging from critical pretations of popular culture to in-depth field guides for specialists, and more. This is all made possible by the dedicated and excellent UGA Press staff who consistently produce top-notch works, along with the engagement of the entire UGA Editorial Board.” —Jennifer L. Rice, Editorial Board Chair
NEW PROGRAMS, INITIATIVES, AND EFFORTS CIVIL SIGHTS SETS ITS SIGHTS ON SWEET AUBURN
A 2025 bestseller copublished with Georgia Humanities and now in its third printing, Civil Sights: Sweet Auburn, a Journey through Atlanta’s National Treasure by Gene Kansas shared the globally and locally important history of Sweet Auburn with students and teachers on tours and with many readers at book events throughout the region.
Author Gene Kansas in conversation with Errin Haines, editor at large of The 19th, and Dr. Jacqueline Jones Royster at Auburn Avenue Research Library for the launch of Civil Sights in Atlanta’s historic Sweet Auburn neighborhood. Credit: Kiyah C Photography. Dr. Robert Adams, executive director of Penn Center, St. Helena Island, South Carolina. Courtesy of the Atlanta Preservation Center.
GSU professors and preservation advocates at the Atlanta Preservation Center. Courtesy of the Atlanta Preservation Center. uga press annual report 2025–2026 • 5
NEW PROGRAMS, INITIATIVES, AND EFFORTS DRIVEN BOOK TOUR
Tom Johnson is a man of many titles, ranging from President Lyndon B. Johnson’s former aide, to former LA Times CEO and former CNN president, to husband, father, and grandfather. In the fall of 2025, he added UGA Press author to the list. Johnson’s national book tour for his autobiography, Driven: A Life in Public Service and Journalism from LBJ to CNN, kicked off—on his eighty-fourth birthday—with a launch at Politics and Prose in Washington, D.C. That conversation with Judy Woodruff, senior correspondent and the former anchor and managing editor of the PBS NewsHour, introduced audiences to the humble, hilarious, and highly accomplished journalist that Johnson is. Johnson also appeared on CNN’s The Situation Room and Amanpour, during which he addressed journalistic integrity and the importance of mental health. The Georgia leg of the tour included Johnson in conversation with journalist Pat Mitchell at the Atlanta History Center and a stop in his hometown, where he spoke to Historic Macon Foundation & Peyton Anderson Foundation members. Johnson also delivered a standing-room-only book discussion at his alma mater for the University of Georgia’s Fall 2025 Signature Lecture series.
GEORGIA POETRY PRIZE WINNER
In 2024, we brought the Georgia Poetry Prize, generously supported by the Bruce and Georgia McEver Fund for the Arts and Environment, back from hiatus to record-breaking submission numbers. From a rich pool of finalist manuscripts, head judge Andrew Zawacki selected Michael Joseph Walsh’s A Season as a winner. A Season is inventive, dreamy, disorienting, described by Zawacki as “a mesmerizing, slow burn of a book. . . . In whirling, diaristic movement sheared by sand and ‘semi-snow,’ by a face ‘at the speed of thought,’ its warped and wefted sequences scrutinize foreignness, the human body, the ‘apparitional surge’ of self and 6 • uga press annual report 2025–2026
When asked about his legacy, he stated, “I want to spend the last inning of my life making the world that much better. Each and every one of us has a role to play. Do what you can.” Johnson often shares his gratitude and enthusiasm at his opportunity to publish his “first and last” book with UGA Press. We’re equally delighted.
Book event for Driven at the Atlanta History Center, October 2025. Left to right: Candice Lawrence, Lisa Bayer, Ashley Van Buren, Samuel Corden, Tom Johnson, and Edwina Johnson.
other.” In the few months since its release on March 1 of this year, it’s been recognized as one of a list of twenty-five “Best New Poetry Books for Adults” by the New York Public Library, an honor pointing to the prize’s ability to add to the literary conversation beyond the region. That said, one of the goals of the prize is to bring more poetry to Georgia, and we were delighted to reinstitute that portion of the prize after COVID-related disruptions made the promise of such events tenuous. Thanks to our partnerships with Poetry @ Tech and the University of Georgia’s Creative Writing Program, Walsh came to Georgia for two readings and a classroom visit in February, just ahead of the book’s official release
Michael Joseph Walsh (center) with UGA Press staff, February 2026.
date. During the Athens leg of the journey, we hosted a Wednesday evening reading at the Athenaeum art gallery. Following remarks on A Season from UGA Creative Writing Program PhD student Sristi Ray and judge Andrew Zawacki, Walsh read from his book and shared some new work. The next day, he visited Dr. Zawacki’s undergraduate classroom, where students enjoyed the rare opportunity to chat with a poet they’d been studying in class.
EXPANDING SCHOLARLY ACCESS
In fiscal year 2026, UGA Press partnered with multiple ebook distributors to expand readers’ access to Press titles around the globe. We are the first U.S. publisher to partner with Zendy, a digital research library that focuses on scholarly titles being available in areas of
the world that often have limited access. The Press also signed on with Perlego, an online digital library that makes many academic and nonfiction titles available for subscription with a focus on institutional libraries, and with Paradigm Publishing Services (a division of De Gruyter Brill), which offers copyright year licensing for many university libraries and the Press’s extensive ebook backlist. We are pleased to expand the impact of UGA Press content to many more readers worldwide.
JAZZ JUNE FINALIST FOR THE PEN AMERICA AWARD
On January 29, 2026, PEN America announced Jazz June: A Self-Portrait in Essays by Clifford Thompson as one of five finalists for the PEN/DiamonsteinSpielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. One of ten literary awards given by PEN America, the PEN/ Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay is awarded annually to a seasoned writer whose collection of essays is an expansion on their corpus of work and preserves the distinguished art form of the essay. uga press annual report 2025–2026 • 7
NEW PROGRAMS, INITIATIVES, AND EFFORTS The recipient of a Whiting Writers’ Award for nonfiction, Clifford Thompson’s essays and reviews have appeared in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Best American Essays, Times Literary Supplement, the 2024 Pushcart Prize Anthology, and more. He is the author of What It Is: Race, Family, and One Thinking Black Man’s Blues, which Time magazine called one of the “most anticipated” books of the season, as well as the graphic novel Big Man and the Little Men, which he also illustrated.
CELEBRATING A SOUTHERN TABLE
On March 12, 2026, the UGA Special Collections Library hosted a talk titled “The Long Table: Southern Cooking, Memory, and Meaning.” The panel, moderated by UGA Press author Rebecca Lang (Pimento Cheese), included UGA Press author Valerie Frey (Preserving Family Recipes and Georgia’s Historical Recipes) and
food writer Nicole Taylor. The conversation focused on how food connects us to our collective history. After the discussion, guests enjoyed a wide selection of refreshments created using the authors’ recipes.
In September 2025, the UGA Press Advisory Council met in the beautiful North Georgia mountains to celebrate the publication of A History of Sautee Nacoochee by Tommy Hart Jones, which tells the story of the small, rural community in the Appalachian Mountains. The group learned about the conservation work of the Sautee Nacoochee communities and visited the historic Hardman Farm, which includes the iconic Nacoochee
Authors Rebecca Lang, Nicole Taylor, and Valerie Frey in conversation, March 2026. 8 • uga press annual report 2025–2026
ADVISORY COUNCIL WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS
NEW PROGRAMS, INITIATIVES, AND EFFORTS
Sautee Nacoochee Center site tour.
Mound. John and Laura Hardman, Shell and Wyck Knox, and the Dot and Lam Hardman Family Foundation generously funded this new book. The Advisory Council also welcomed several new members, including Emily Balentine Barbour, Lucy Allen Gillis, Audrey Hill, Heard Galis, Bruce Whitlow, and Ellen Wilkins Wiley.
UGA ENGLISH ALUMNI IN PUBLISHING
As part of the 2026 UGA Humanities Festival, Production Editor Laura Theobald participated in the UGA English Alumni in Publishing panel with UGA Press intern alums and UGA English graduates, including publishing professionals from the University of Chicago Press, The Georgia Review, and the Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency. This panel supported the launch of UGA’s new Publishing Certificate program.
WELCOME & GOODBYE FROM UGA PRESS Senior Acquisitions Editor Mick Gusinde-Duffy retired from UGA Press in February 2026 after thirteen years in the acquisitions department and many books acquired in geography, sociology, history, and other disciplines. The Press welcomed two new staff members during the year: Laura Theobald, production editor (August 2025), and Raquel Thorne, regional trade acquisitions editor (February 2026). Laura is a PhD candidate in English at the University of Georgia and holds an MFA from Louisiana State University. She is the author of three books of poetry and was a graduate intern at UGA Press and the New Georgia Encyclopedia. Raquel has a PhD in English from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and an MFA from Louisiana State University. She is a graduate of the George Washington University Publishing Management program. The New Georgia Encyclopedia also welcomed Kara Krewer as an assistant editor; Kara is the author of Born-Again Anything (Texas Review Press, 2019), holds an MFA from Purdue University, and is a former Stegner Fellow at Stanford University.
Laura Theobald
Raquel Thorne Mick Gusinde-Duffy with illustrator Anderson Carmen (left) and author Andrew Fialka (right) of Hope Never to See It: A Graphic History of Guerrilla Violence during the American Civil War, 2025 Southern Historical Association conference. Kara Krewer Jason Thrasher for the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts. uga press annual report 2025–2026 • 9
IN SERVICE TO GEORGIA PRESS OUTREACH Staff members share their publishing expertise across the University of Georgia and the Athens community through outreach and engagement, including presentations to faculty and students, conference and faculty/staff resource tabling, the annual campus book sale, and tours of the Press to interested groups. The University of Georgia Press publishes works by authors, editors, and contributors around the globe, with many from Georgia, including the University of Georgia community at large. Among the publication list are many titles sharing the historical, cultural, and ecological diversity of the state of Georgia. Editor-in-Chief Nate Holly attends the Editors-inPress Advisory Council member Sharon Eswine, director of curriculum and instruction at Savannah Country Day School (Savannah, Georgia), created curriculum maps for faculty inspired by A Voice for Earth: American Writers Respond to the Earth Charter edited by Peter Blaze Corcoran and A. James Wohlpart (UGA Press, 2008).
Chief Summit hosted by the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts at the Georgia Institute of Technology, January 2026, Atlanta, Georgia.
She writes, “As you know, we call our curriculum maps Wayfinder Maps, and that name carries a story I love: Wayfinding is an Indigenous Pacific Islander practice of navigating the open ocean by reading the stars, the currents, the wind, and even subtle cues felt in the body. Wayfinders grew up sleeping on boats, learning to feel direction as much as see it. Even on cloudy nights, when the stars were hidden, they still knew where they were going. For me, this is a beautiful metaphor for teaching. We have our stars, which are our curriculum, standards, and learning goals. But we also rely on something just as powerful: our embodied knowing of students, classrooms, and moments. That intuition, built through experience and care, helps us navigate the waters of instruction every day.”
Educators from Savannah Country Day School wearing their Wayfinding t-shirts.
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UGA Press revives its legendary Dirty Book Sale during the UGA Spotlight for the Arts.
Operation Breadbasket: An Untold Story of Civil Rights in Chicago, 1966–1971 by Martin L. Deppe was included in Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s gift box to Pope Leo XIV. Credit: Vashon Jordan Jr., Mayor’s Press Office.
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
As of June 30, 2026
Design and Production Yuree Choi, Graphic Design, ’27 Generously funded by the Katharine and Alan Elsas Internship in Book Design and Production Intellectual Property Lucille Hayes, Philosophy, minor in Law, Jurisprudence and the State, ’28 Generously funded by Don and Cindy Waters Daniela McLean, Educational Leadership (EdD), ’26 xPD internship generously funded by the Graduate School of the University of Georgia
“Interning at the UGA Press has been the highlight of my academic career. Working in both the Acquisitions and Marketing departments, I’ve learned how a manuscript becomes a book from start to finish and have worked closely with several titles in the process. The skills and April Cerritos experiences that I have gained are invaluable, and I am so grateful for the opportunities presented to me during my time at the UGA Press.” —April Cerritos
Business Kira Law, English and Communication Sciences and Disorders, minor in American Sign Language, ’28 Generously funded by the Lane Family Gavin Liebnick, Finance, ’27 Generously funded by the Lane Family Marketing Bridget Osas, Health Media and Communication (M.A.), ’28 Georgia Power–Grady College Assistantship April Cerritos, English and Comparative Literature, ’27 Ally Bigham, Spanish (literature concentration) (M.A.), ’26 Katalina Green, Communication Studies, ’27 Francisca Zakowicz Blanco, Public Relations and Spanish, ’26 Seth Wright, English and Political Science, ’26 Editorial Mayee Yeh, Linguistics (MA), ’27 Sayantika Mandal, Creative Writing (PhD), ’26 xPD internship generously funded by the Graduate School of the University of Georgia Quentin Murphy, Philosophy (PhD), ’27 xPD internship generously funded by the Graduate School of the University of Georgia Acquisitions Benjamin Prostine, History (PhD), ’28 History PhD Apprenticeship generously funded by the Solomon History Internship Fund and the UGA Department of History Shannon Dinniman, History (MA), ’27 Peggy Heard Galis History Graduate Student Apprentice, Summer 2026 Sophie Belnap, English, ’26 Generously funded by the Wormsloe Foundation April Cerritos, English and Comparative Literature, ’27 Generously funded by the Ralph Haygood Stephens and Eugenia Doughtie Stephens Undergraduate Internship Fund and the Wormsloe Foundation Levi Hubbard, English and Philosophy, ’26 Generously funded by the Wormsloe Foundation Audrey Kirkland, English and Marketing, ’26 Generously funded by the Wormsloe Foundation Meredith Woods, English, ’26 Generously funded by the Ralph Haygood Stephens and Eugenia Doughtie Stephens Undergraduate Internship Fund
Yuree Choi
Gavin Liebnick
Bridget Osas
Ally Bigham
Francisca Zakowicz Blanco
Mayee Yeh
Quentin Murphy
Benjamn Prostine
Sophie Belnap
Levi Hubbard
Audrey Kirkland
Sophia Muriel Flemming
New Georgia Encyclopedia Sophia Muriel Flemming, Communication Studies (PhD), ’27 xPD internship generously funded by the Graduate School of the University of Georgia u g a p r e s s a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 2 5 – 2 0 2 6 • 11
RECENT AWARDS Ann Litrel and Charles Seabrook, 35 Natural Wonders of Georgia to See before You Die Georgia Author of the Year Awards, Georgia Writers Association A. Muia, A Desert between Two Seas: A Novel in Stories Southwest Books of the Year, Pima County Library Todd Davis and Noah Davis (eds.), Carolyn G. Mahan (Natural History Editor), A Literary Field Guide to Northern Appalachia Book of the Year, Writers Conference of Northern Appalachia Brett Bannor, American Sheep: A Cultural History Outstanding Academic Title, Choice Magazine Beau Cleland, Between King Cotton and Queen Victoria: How Pirates, Smugglers, and Scoundrels Almost Saved the Confederacy Wiley-Silver Prize, Center for Civil War Research Gene Kansas, illustrated by Clay Kiningham, Civil Sights: Sweet Auburn, a Journey through Atlanta’s National Treasure Award for Excellence in Local History Advocacy, Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council Siwar Masannat, cue: poems George Ellenbogen Poetry Award, Arab American Book Awards (honorable mention) Laura Seifert, Faith in Education at the Skidaway Island Benedictine Mission Award for Excellence in Research, Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council Greg Brooking, From Empire to Revolution: Sir James Wright and the Price of Loyalty in Georgia Award for Excellence in Documenting Georgia’s History, Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council Valerie J. Frey, Georgia’s Historical Recipes: Seeking Our State’s Oldest Written Foodways and the Stories behind Them Georgia Author of the Year Awards, Georgia Writers Association (shortlisted) Indies Book of the Year, Foreword Reviews (shortlisted) Kevin Tarner and Rachel Hughes, Hidden World: The Survival Systems of Plants Book Award, American Horticultural Society Justin Glawe, If I Am Coming to Your Town, Something Terrible Has Happened: The Life and Times of a Domestic War Correspondent Independent Publisher Book (IPPY) Award (shortlisted) Clifford Thompson, Jazz June: A Self-Portrait in Essays PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay, PEN America (shortlisted) John Turner, Killing the Buddha on the Appalachian Trail: Walking On through Self-Doubt and Aging National Outdoor Book Award, National Outdoor Book Awards
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RECENT AWARDS Ren and Helen Davis, Land of Everlasting Hills: George Masa, Jim Thompson, and the Photographs That Helped Save the Great Smoky Mountains and Blaze the Appalachian Trail Publication Excellence Award, East Tennessee Historical Society Indies Book of the Year, Foreword Reviews (shortlisted) Paul Burch, Meridian Rising: A Novel Indies Book of the Year, Foreword Reviews (shortlisted) Jacob P. Chamberlain, Migrant Justice in the Age of Removal: Rights, Law, and Resistance against Territory’s Exclusions Social Change & Social Justice, Nautilus Book Awards (runner-up) Renata Golden, Mountain Time: A Field Guide to Astonishment (published by Columbus State University Press) New Mexico–Arizona Book Awards, New Mexico Book Co-op (shortlisted) Georgia Author of the Year Awards, Georgia Writers Association (shortlisted) Sandra Gail Lambert, My Withered Legs and Other Essays Lambda Literary Awards, Lambda Literary Foundation Mike Marshall, No Place for Pilgrims: Solving the Murder of William Moore, the Last Cold Civil Rights Case Independent Publisher Book (IPPY) Award Kristin Allukian, Slavery, Capitalism, and Women’s Literature: Economic Insights of American Women Writers, 1852–1869 SSAWW Book Prize, Society for the Study of American Women Writers (honorable mention) Sarah V. Ross (ed.), Social Roots: Lowcountry Foodways, Reconnecting the Landscape Award for Excellence in Documenting Georgia’s History, Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council Mark Clegg, The Crimson and Gold: Football and Integration in Athens, Georgia Award for Excellence in Local History Advocacy, Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council Preservation Award, Historic Athens Cris Mazza, The Decade of Letting Things Go: A Postmenopause Memoir Great Group Reads, Women’s National Book Association Karen Auman, The Good Forest: The Salzburgers, Success, and the Plan for Georgia Award of Commendation in Regional/District History, Concordia Historical Institute (commended) Roy Christopher, The Medium Picture International Impact Book Award in Culture/Society Category, International Impact Book Awards Jennifer W. Dickey (ed.), There’s Lots to See in Georgia: A Guide to Georgia’s State Historic Sites Book, Jacket, and Journal Show, Association of University Presses Lee Horikoshi Roripaugh, unMothered, unTongued: Lyric Essays Independent Publisher Book (IPPY) Award (runner-up) Lambda Literary Awards, Lambda Literary Foundation (shortlisted) u g a p r e s s a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 2 5 – 2 0 2 6 • 13
UGA PRESS
Wagging Tongues and Tittle Tattle: Gossip, Rumor, and Reputation in a Small Southern Town by Sylvia D. Hoffert
More Historic Rural Churches of Georgia by Sonny Seals, foreword by Ambassador Andrew Young
“Glawe’s tenacious account of covering ‘mass shootings and tragedies, immigration and the border, politics and elections’ is riveting on the details alone. But it’s his distinctive voice and honesty about his slide into panic attacks and alcoholism—seemingly worsening in proportion to the rise in violence, division, and corruption around him—that will keep readers hooked. . . . [A]n evocative narrative of one man’s life superimposed over a decaying America.”—starred review, Publishers Weekly
Blue Loop: Poems by AJ White
The Medium Picture by Roy Christopher
If I Am Coming to Your Town, Something Terrible Has Happened: The Life and Times of a Domestic War Correspondent by Justin Glawe
Radioactive Dixie: A Nuclear History of the American South by Caroline Rose Peyton
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A Monument to Blackness: Murals and Black Liberation, from the Harlem Renaissance to Black Lives Matter by Hannah Jeffery
Sifting the Feminine: Essays on a Woman’s Body by Ashley Anderson
unMothered, unTongued: Lyric Essays by Lee Horikoshi Roripaugh
Woodlands of the Mind: Rambles Through Campus Forests by Kevin E. O’Donnell and Scott Randolph Honeycutt
U.S. History at the 250th: From the Revolution to the History Wars, Sandra Enríquez, Annette Gordon-Reed, Sandy Grande, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Erika Lee, Robert Parkinson, Marc Stein, and William Sturkey, in Conversation with Catherine Clinton and Jim Downs
Flannery and Regina: The Andalusia Chronicles by Carol Loeb Shloss
The Mad by Ignatius T. Mabasa, translated by J. Tsitsi Mutiti
Motown and the Making of Working-Class Revolutionaries: The Story of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers by Jerome Scott and Walda Katz-Fishman
RECENT RELEASES
No Place for Pilgrims: Solving the Murder of William Moore, the Last Cold Civil Rights Case by Mike Marshall
A Desert between Two Seas: A Novel in Stories by A. Muia
Porgy’s Ghost: The Life and Works of Dorothy Heyward and Her Contribution to an American Classic by Harlan Greene
Finding Sarah and Mary: Unraveling African American Genealogy from the Ground Up by Jacqueline Jones Royster
Between King Cotton and Queen Victoria: How Pirates, Smugglers, and Scoundrels Almost Saved the Confederacy by Beau Cleland
Mercy in Disaster: Abby Hopper Gibbons’s Journals and Letters from Four Years of Civil War Nursing, edited by Angela G. Schear
Cuban Tobacco in the Age of Second Slavery by William A. Morgan
Olive Growing in Palestine: Stories of Everyday Forms of Resistance by Juman Simaan
The Ultimate Shell Seeker’s Guide: Building a Better Beachcombing Strategy
My Corpse Inside by Wes Jamison
Driven: A Life in Public Service and Journalism from LBJ to CNN by Tom Johnson
Black Montmartre in the Jazz Age by Robert Tomlinson
by Ashley Oliphant Wormsloe Foundation Nature Books
Cattle Trails and Animal Lives: The Founding of an American Carceral Archipelago by Karen M. Morin
Bookin’ in the Big House: What I Learned Leading a Women’s Prison Book Club by Pat Cunningham Devoto
Original Sin? The Reproduction of Racism in a Multiracial Church by Willie Barnes Jr. and J. Scott Carter
Dispersed Dispossession: Collective Goods, Appropriation, and Agency in Rural Russia by Alexander Vorbrugg
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UGA PRESS
Passport to Citizenship: Finding America by Living Abroad by Arthur N. Dunning
Infrastructures of Caring Citizenship: Commoning Social Reproduction in Crisis-Ridden Athens, Greece by Isabel Gutiérrez Sánchez
Meridian Rising: A Novel by Paul Burch
A Season: Poems by Michael Joseph Walsh
Reinventing the River City: Riparian Infrastructure, Cincinnati Elites, and the Ohio River by Raymond Pettit
Georgia and Bruce McEver Fund for the Arts and Environment
Teresa Benguela and Felipa Crioula Were Pregnant: Motherhood and Slavery in NineteenthCentury Rio de Janeiro by Lorena Féres da Silva Telles, translated by Anthony Doyle
Emotional Filipinos: The American Myth of the “Lazy Native” and Islamic Separatism in the Philippines by George Baylon Radics
Hidden World: The Survival Systems of Plants by Kevin Tarner and Rachel Hughe
Everybody Needs Something: Stories by Melanie Pappadis Faranello
Wormsloe Foundation Nature Books
Distributed on behalf of Columbus State University Press
Conservation in Common: Managing Wildlife and Sustaining Community on the Maasai Steppe by Justin Raycraft
“American Bacon is a delicious read that serves up many crispy, enjoyable, and surprising bits of culinary history. It’s a fascinating look at how changing perceptions transformed this particular preserved meat from a lowly staple item into an enduring food celebrity.” —Adrian Miller, James Beard Award–winning author
American Bacon: The History of a Food Phenomenon by Mark A. Johnson Bradley Hale Fund for Southern Studies
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Success at a Price: Women of Color Students at a White University by Lisa C. Huebner, Samantha Jeune, and Odette Kolenky
The Injustice of Property: Homeless Encampments and the Limits of Liberalism by Stephen Przybylinski
Local TV: Histories, Communities, and Aesthetics, edited by Lauren Herold and Annie Laurie Sullivan
RECENT RELEASES “Thompson writes in a speaking voice; one leans closer to the book to listen.” —Michael Autrey, Booklist
All Geographers Should Be Feminist Geographers: Creating Care-Full Academic Spaces by Lindsay Naylor with Emerald L. Christopher, Eden Kinkaid, Caroline Faria, and LaToya E. Eaves
We Are American Citizens: The Colored Conventions Movement and the Long Struggle for Civil Rights by Claire Bourhis-Mariotti
Peach Pit Corazón: A Judith Ortiz Cofer Reader edited by Rafael Ocasio
Deserter Declarations: Letters from North Carolinians Who Abandoned Their Confederate Units edited by Judkin Browning
United States of Rejection: A Story of Love, Hate, and Hope by Alison Kinney
Enforcing Order on the Border: Race, Policing, and Immigration Enforcement in South Texas by Eric Gamino
Protest and Pedagogy: Charlottesville’s Black Freedom Struggle and the Making of the American High School by Alexander D. Hyres
Pimento Cheese: The Southern Spread by Rebecca Lang, photography by Kathryn McCrary
Jazz June: A SelfPortrait in Essays by Clifford Thompson
The Most Controversial State Park: Jekyll Island by C. Brenden Martin Friends Fund
Protesting with Rosa Parks: From Stagecoaches to Driving While Black by John K. Bollard
Friends Fund
Off the Coast of Paradise: Artists and Ossabaw Island, 1961–Now edited by Erin Dunn and Beryl Gilothwest Distributed on behalf of Telfair Books
In Pursuit of Freedom: Fugitive Slaves and Advertised Escape in the Early Republic by Shaun R. C. Wallace
The Season of Birds and Stones: Essays by Yelizaveta P. Renfro
Serving the Street: Volunteering as Charity, Racial Justice, and Poverty Tourism by Matthew Jerome Schneider
uga press annual report 2025–2026
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INVESTING IN OUR MISSION The Press is fortunate to have six funds that support specific subject areas in which we publish. These funds have underwritten more than one hundred new publications since 1954, when Elfrida De Renne Barrow and Craig Barrow Jr. of the Wormsloe Foundation created the Wormsloe Publication Fund to support books on the history and culture of Georgia and the South. Our other funds are as follows:
The Friends Fund underwrites projects chosen by the director. This fund was established and is sustained by the generous gifts of the UGA Press Advisory Council.
The Wormsloe Foundation Nature Fund is dedicated to informing and educating general readers about the unique natural environments of the Southeast and the pressing need to preserve them.
The Georgia and Bruce McEver Fund for the Arts and Environment underwrites publications in the arts and environment, including the Georgia Poetry Prize and projects in landscape architecture, historic preservation, and the built environment.
The Sarah Mills Hodge Fund honors its namesake’s work in Savannah, Georgia, by supporting publications in the areas of African and African American history, culture, and literature.
Anthony Benezet: Quaker, Abolitionist, Anti-Racist by David Chanoff
The Ultimate Shell Seeker’s Guide: Building a Better Beachcombing Strategy by Ashley Oliphant
The Bradley Hale Fund for Southern Studies honors a late champion of Georgia history and historic preservation through supporting a wide range of scholarly and general interest books in the areas of Southern history, culture, literature, and food and foodways.
Land of Everlasting Hills: George Masa, Jim Thompson, and the Photographs That Helped Save the Great Smoky Mountains and Blaze the Appalachian Trail by Ren and Helen Davis
American Bacon: The History of a Food Phenomenon by Mark A. Johnson
35 Natural Wonders of Georgia to See before You Die by Ann Litrel and Charles Seabrook
Fiscal Year 2026 Sources of Income 9% Fundraising and Publication Funds
4% Subsidiary Rights and Competition Fees
31% State Support 56% Net Book Sales
18 • u g a p r e s s a n n u a l r e p o r t 2 0 2 5 – 2 0 2 6
DEVELOPMENT UPDATE As the newly appointed chair of the UGA Press Advisory Council, it is a privilege to serve the university and to further the vision of the Press: Advancing knowledge for the public good. Associating with the exceptional professional staff has been an inspiration, providing wonderful opportunities for Debbie Edwards, personal growth, and meeting so many Incoming Advisory authors and learning their unique stories Council Chair has provided a deeper understanding about a broad range of fascinating subjects. But for my husband, John, and me, the best part about our relationship with the Press has been spending time with the other members of the Advisory Council. We have made new friends who share our love for books and learning!
Recently, John and I were given the opportunity to endow a fund to support an important UGA Press initiative: the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction. The award was established in 1983 and has become a proving ground for writers to exhibit their talent and promise and to elevate the short story genre. Providing this new level of support will allow the Press to increase recognition for the award and to improve opportunities for the recipients to engage with an expanding audience, including UGA faculty and students. And an added bonus is that we have the honor of associating our names with Flannery O’Connor, a brilliant Georgia artist whose short life made an indelible mark on American literature. Thank you for joining us in supporting the UGA Press. Your involvement really matters!
ADVISORY COUNCIL As of June 30, 2026
UGA Press Advisory Council at Sautee Nacoochee Hardman Farm State Historic Site, September 2025.
Peggy Heard Galis, Chair Athens, Georgia Craig Barrow, Founding Chair Savannah, Georgia Frederick L. Allen III Atlanta, Georgia Emily Balentine Barbour Atlanta, Georgia Suzanne Barbour Chapel Hill, North Carolina Roy E. Barnes Marietta, Georgia Thornton Barrow Savannah, Georgia Karen Baynes-Dunning Greenville, South Carolina Pete Candler Asheville, North Carolina Art Dunning Greenville, South Carolina Debbie Edwards Atlanta, Georgia J. Wiley Ellis Savannah, Georgia Sharon Eswine Savannah, Georgia
Thomas Fleetwood Atlanta, Georgia Heard Galis St. Simons Island, Georgia Candy Gilliland Athens, Georgia Lucy Allen Gillis Athens, Georgia Nancy L. Grayson Watkinsville, Georgia H. Edward Hales Jr. Atlanta, Georgia John B. Hardman Atlanta, Georgia Audrey Hill Atlanta, Georgia Marian W. Hill Atlanta, Georgia Ellen Hale Jones Atlanta, Georgia Philip M. Juras Athens, Georgia Charles B. Knapp Athens, Georgia Keeli M. W. Knight Rutledge, Georgia
Christopher Lane Savannah, Georgia Rebecca D. Lang Athens, Georgia H. Bruce McEver Salisbury, Connecticut Dan Nadenicek Athens, Georgia Dink NeSmith Jr. Athens, Georgia Merryll S. Penson Athens, Georgia Paul M. Pressly Savannah, Georgia Henrietta M. Singletary Albany, Georgia Mary Socci Hilton Head, South Carolina Benjamin Rawlings Tarbutton Sandersville, Georgia R. Lindsay Thomas Screven, Georgia Mimi Vickers Union Point, Georgia Cindy Waters Savannah, Georgia
Bruce Whitlow Tallulah Falls, Georgia Ellen Wilkins Wiley Atlanta, Georgia Emeritus Members Elizabeth (Betty) Balentine Atlanta, Georgia Richard “Bo” Bradley Columbus, Georgia Dayle Burns Newington, Georgia Peter M. Candler Greensboro, Georgia Katherine E. Elsas Atlanta, Georgia F. Sheffield Hale Atlanta, Georgia Thomas (Tommy) D. Hills Atlanta, Georgia Fran Lane Athens, Georgia Richard (Rick) Meyer III Savannah, Georgia B. Neely Young Marietta, Georgia
THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA PRESS Main Library, Third Floor 320 South Jackson Street Athens, Georgia 30602 www.ugapress.org
Front cover: Cover photo of roseate spoonbills from Palms, Priests, and Pirates: The Epic History of Amelia Island, Florida by Stephen Doster, photographs by Benjamin Galland (Wormsloe Foundation Publication).
UGA Press staff after the Strategic Planning retreat in August 2025, Wire Park, Watkinsville, Georgia.
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