Audiobooks and podcasts have been sky-rocketing in popularity over the past three or four years. In 2019, the number of Americans who had listened to an audiobook passed 50%, a first for the medium. Podcasts are also on the rise, with investments from companies like Spotify and Pandora further encouraging a virtious cycle of audience growth and a broadening pool of podcasters.

complete article

Frederica examines those books in her library that are difficult to categorize, but that also contain insights that have helped her understand the culture.

The Ursa Majors are ready for votes and the nominees have been revealed. Voting can be found at their website and is open throughout the month of March. Two categories, however, received no nominees due to being an insufficient number of nominations and will not be put up to vote for a winner. Those two categories being Fursuits and Non-Fiction.

If you enjoy film, fiction, art, or any other of the many items that are up for selection as the best of the best for the year of 2019 be sure to vote this month. If you like non-fiction or fursuits, well, you can always be sure to nominate next year.

The nominees are:

read more

We're highlighting newly released titles may have been lost in the news as the nation endures the coronavirus pandemic

Southern California Best Sellers, May 10, 2020

Hayden Library - PN1995.9.D6 W25 2018

Dewey Library - PN1995.9.P7 D45 2020

Dewey Library - PQ6653.E62 M6613 2020

Griswold is an assistant professor in the MFA program at McNeese State University, Lake Charles, Louisiana. He is the author of A Democracy of Ghosts; Herrin: The Brief History of an Infamous American City; and Pirates You Don’t Know, and Other Adventures in the Examined Life: Collected Essays (Georgia, 2014). He has written extensively (as Oronte Churm) at Inside Higher Ed and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency.

“I’m gratified to be part of this new publishing opportunity,” Griswold says. “The series will build on UGA Press’s success and reputation publishing the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) Creative Nonfiction contest winners since 1986, as well as nonfiction anthologies and craft books. Georgia combines the intellectual reputation of a major university press with savvy promotion in the digital age, and we intend to reach smart readers who like to be entertained, in the widest sense.”

The inaugural book in the series will be published in October 2015. My Unsentimental Education, a memoir by Debra Monroe (On the Outskirts of Normal), offers a smart and lyrical take on the isolation that occurs when crossing class barriers in pursuit of the life of the mind.

Press director Lisa Bayer adds, “Creative nonfiction as a genre is experiencing an unprecedented period of growth and interest—a bit of a golden age. Georgia’s strong literary legacy, combined with the richness of the field, positions us perfectly to make a visible mark.”

The series advisory board includes Dan Gunn, Pam Houston, Phillip Lopate, Dinty W. Moore, Lia Purpura, Patricia Smith, and Ned Stuckey-French.

For more information:
- contact John Griswold at crux.series@gmail.com
- visit the Crux series page at the University of Georgia Press 
- download a jpeg of the logo
- online submissions manager and submission guidelines available here