University of Michigan Press Blog

Banned Books Week

by Danielle Coty-Fattal September 21, 2022

Each year, the American Library Association’s (ALA) Banned Books Week gives us an opportunity to reflect on censorship and discrimination in the United States and our education system. Notably, as the ALA reports, books that are written by or are about Black and LGBTQ+ persons and communities make up the majority of challenged books. Censorship is scary, especially when it targets literature that has the potential to educate and represent. With the increasing surge of backlash against certain titles and their availability in public and educational spaces, a reflection on the problems that underlie these issues is essential. In recognition […]

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with the University of Michigan Press!

by Briana Johnson September 14, 2022

September 15th to October 15th is Hispanic Heritage Month! Join the University of Michigan Press in celebrating our books on Hispanic heritage by taking a 40% discount on our books on Hispanic heritage with code UMSEPT22, with free shipping on purchases of 4 or more! Latin Numbers by Brian Eugenio Herrera Until the end of the month, this book is only $15 when you enter FLASH22 at checkout. Latin Numbers is a work of performance history, examining the way in which Latino actors on the twentieth-century stage and screen communicated and influenced American ideas about race and ethnicity. […]

Méliès: It’s Gotta Be the Shoes

by Danielle Coty-Fattal September 8, 2022

This guest author post is by Matthew Solomon, author of Méliès Boots: Footwear and Film Manufacturing in Second Industrial Revolution Paris, now available in paperback and open access, and editor of Magnificent Méliès: The Authorized Biography, written by Madeleine Malthête-Méliès and translated by Kel Pero, now available in hardcover. If you have read Brian Selznick’s book The Invention of Hugo Cabret or have seen Martin Scorsese’s film adaptation Hugo, you will have heard the name Georges Méliès. Méliès’ most famous film, the landmark A Trip to the Moon, is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year. Méliès, in addition to being a […]

Q&A with Dan DiPiero, Author of “Contingent Encounters”

by Danielle Coty-Fattal August 24, 2022

Cover of Contingent Encounters by Dan DiPiero

This guest author post is a Q&A with Dan DiPiero, author of Contingent Encounters: Improvisation in Music and Everyday Life, from the University of Michigan Press. This book is available in hardcover, paper, and open access. What surprised you the most while conducting your research for the book? One thing that surprised me was how many references I could find to improvisation in the media. For years, I had been casually collecting examples any time I saw the word “improvisation” out in the world, for example on a billboard. But it was really when I started writing the introduction that I went […]

8 Books That Will Make You Fall in Love with Detroit

by Kristen Twardowski August 4, 2022

This summer take some time to brush up on your local history. From pop culture to social justice movements, from the music industry to the auto industry, we’ve curated a list of eight of our titles about Detroit. We love this city. And if you don’t know much about Detroit (or even if you do) these books will help you fall in love with it too. Jazz from Detroit by Mark Stryker Jazz from Detroit explores the city’s pivotal role in shaping the course of modern and contemporary jazz. With more than two dozen in-depth profiles of remarkable Detroit-bred musicians, […]

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