University of Arizona Press Earns Top Honors

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University of Arizona Press Earns Top Honors

First place in the Autobiography in English category went to Kathleen Alcalá’s "The Desert Remembers My Name: On Family and Writing."

The Independent Publisher Book Award’s Gold Medal in the Autobiography/Memoir: Richard Shelton’s "Crossing the Yard: Thirty Years as a Prison Volunteer."

The Wind Shifts, a UA Press publication, also will be featured in the 18th edition of University Press Books Selected for Public and Secondary School Libraries.

By University Communications
June 18, 2008

The University of Arizona Press garnered eight honors presented at three awards ceremonies during BookExpo America, the largest book trade show in the industry. The press also received honors from the Association of American University Presses and the American Library Association.

"These recent awards demonstrate the high quality of work being published by the UA Press. Our authors are writing about subjects that are often underrepresented and we make their work available to individuals and organizations on an international scale. Publishers from across the nation and the world compete for these awards and receiving eight honors illustrates the impact our books have on the global community," said Holly Schaffer, publicity manager for the UA Press.

During the Expo’s 2008 International Latino Book Awards, the UA Press received two first-place awards, one second-place award and an honorable mention. Publishers across the United States as well as Mexico, South America and Central America, and Spain nominate titles for these highly sought-after awards, which showcase the positive contributions being made to Latino literature worldwide and highlight titles that exemplify literary excellence within the Latino community.

First place in the Poetry in English category went to Francisco Aragón’s "The Wind Shifts: New Latino Poetry." First place in the Autobiography in English category went to Kathleen Alcalá’s "The Desert Remembers My Name: On Family and Writing." Second place in the Poetry in English category went to Blas Falconer’s "A Question of Gravity and Light" and honorable mention in the History in English category went to Rodolfo Acuña’s "Corridors of Migration: The Odyssey of Mexican Laborers, 1600-1933."

During the Expo’s Independent Publisher Book Awards, the UA Press took home a gold medal and two bronze medals. The Independent Publisher Book Awards honor titles that preserve diverse personalities and viewpoints and represent the cutting edge of independent thinking and expression and attracted more than 3,000 entries from publishers in 49 states, 9 Canadian provinces and 16 countries

The Independent Publisher Book Award’s Gold Medal in the Autobiography/Memoir category went to Richard Shelton’s "Crossing the Yard: Thirty Years as a Prison Volunteer." The group's Bronze Medal in the Multicultural Nonfiction Adult category went to Margaret Randall’s "Stones Witness" and the Bronze Medal in the Best Regional Nonfiction (West-Mountain) category went to Jim Stiles’s "Brave New West: Morphing Moab at the Speed of Greed."

During the Expo’s ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards, the UA Press garnered a second honor for Kathleen Alcalá’s "The Desert Remembers My Name: On Family and Writing." The book also was honored in the Essays category, receiving a Bronze Medal.

Established to bring increased attention to independent publishers, the ForeWord Magazine Book Awards honor titles that expand readers’ worlds, introduce a voice society needs to hear, offer practical knowledge where none existed before or simply entertain.

In addition to the awards the UA Press received at BookExpo America, the American Library Association’s annual conference in June will present "The Wind Shifts: New Latino Poetry" during “The Best of the Best from the University Presses: Books You Should Know About” program.

"The Wind Shifts" gathers, for the first time, works by emerging Latino and Latina poets in the 21st century. In it readers will discover 25 new and vital voices, including Naomi Ayala, Richard Blanco, David Dominguez, Gina Franco, Sheryl Luna and Urayoán Noel. Praised by Booklist as a “ravishing” collection and called “compelling and exhilarating” by the El Paso Times, this anthology presents a rich and varied sample of young, talented North American Latinos and Latinas.

"The Wind Shifts" also will be featured in the 18th edition of University Press Books Selected for Public and Secondary School Libraries.

UA Press, founded in 1959, is a nonprofit publisher of about 50 books each year, with over 800 books in print. Publications include scholarly and trade titles in Native American and Latina/o studies, anthropology, archaeology, nature writing and environmental studies, regional history, Latin American studies and space sciences. It publishes two critically acclaimed series in fiction and poetry, "Sun Tracks: An American Indian Literary Series," and "Camino del Sol: A Latina and Latino Literary Series."