Latest News
Check out Brandeis University Press’s latest news featuring authors and books, as well as special events, prizes, and more.
Wishing You a Happy Holiday Season
Looking for the perfect holiday gift? There’s something for everyone — including yourself! And the best part? You can enjoy 20% off these books until November 20. So what are you waiting for? Check out the full list and read on! The Spice Ports: Mapping the Origins of Global Sea Trade, by Nicholas Nugent A wide-ranging account of a fascinating period of global history told through original maps and breathtaking art. Nicholas Nugent blends first-class narrative writing with his unique
“The Green Ages” Included in 2024 List of University Press Publications that #StepUP
University Press Week to be held Nov. 11-15. 10/28/2024 Waltham, MA — Brandeis University Press is pleased to announce that The Green Ages: Medieval Innovations in Sustainability, by Annette Kehnel has been included in the Association of University Presses’ 2024 list of the best publications that #StepUP. In The Green Ages Professor Kehnel melds environmentalism, economics, and history as she uncovers the medieval precedents for modern concepts of sustainable living. Annette Kehnel is a leading scholar of medieval cultural history
First Annual Book Festival: Brandeis University Press & Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University
Brandeis University Press is delighted to announce a new series of author events in collaboration with the Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University. The Book Festival features recently published books from Brandeis University Press and brings prominent authors to Boston to discuss topics of current and enduring interest. The series opens this September, with four events scheduled through the end of 2024, and continues into 2025 with more events scheduled for the spring. The first annual Book Festival kicks off
New Book From Colm Tóibín: “On James Baldwin”
“All art,” [Baldwin] wrote, “is a kind of confession, more or less oblique. All artists, if they are to survive, are forced, at last, to tell the whole story, to vomit the anguish up.” Colm Tóibín This August, in celebration of James Baldwin’s centenary, Brandeis University Press is proud to be publishing On James Baldwin, by Colm Tóibín. Tóibín first encountered Baldwin’s work in his first year of university as he was struggling to shed the influence of a strict Catholic education that nearly saw him join a seminary. Tóibín,
The Soiling of Old Glory: In Conversation at Suffolk University
“The moment to make a transformative statement — verbal, visual, or gestural — can arise at any time. When it does, we must be ready with words from the heart or actions that heal, or inspire, or inform where a sense of personal risk might otherwise engender silence.” Ted Landsmark In The Soiling of Old Glory: The Story of a Photograph That Shocked America, re-issued this April by Brandeis University Press, historian Louis Masur tells the story behind this historic
Horseshoe Crabs at War No More!
In Crab Wars: A Tale of Horseshoe Crabs, Ecology, and Human Health, William Sargent exposes the exploitation of the horseshoe crab, whose valuable blood — essential for vaccine testing — has made the species the target of multinational pharmaceutical conglomerates, local fishing interests, and government regulators. But hope for the horseshoe crab is not lost! This year, The Boston Globe reported, “[Massachusetts] will ban the collecting of horseshoe crabs during the animal’s mating season.” Capturing, bleeding, and releasing horseshoe crabs results
Celebrate Women’s History Month
“For most of history, Anonymous was a woman.” Virginia Woolf Writers. Philosophers. Leaders. Artists. Travelers. This Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating the women who have shaped the world around us and the authors who have preserved their wisdom for generations to come. From now until the end of March, use code WM2024 for 25% off select Brandeis University Press titles that bring attention to women’s history and thought. Happy reading and happy Women’s Month! The Second Half The Second Half
‘Truck’ Is Back On The Road!
Calling all Gearheads: John Jerome’s Truck is back in stock! Truck: On Rebuilding a Worn-Out Pickup and Other Post-Technological Adventures is a New England classic, a meditation on machines, metaphysics, and the moral universe from one man’s quest to restore a 1950 Dodge pickup. “Know thy gadgets,” Jerome writes. “First step in restoring some kind of wholeness to one’s life.” Despite gouged knuckles, a frigid New Hampshire winter, and a close call when the truck rolls off its jacks, he
Diane Dimond Speaks on Wendy Williams Guardianship Fight
In We’re Here to Help: When Guardianship Goes Wrong, investigative journalist Diane Dimond exposes the abuse prevalent in the unregulated and ill-understood U.S. guardianship system. Dimond recently contributed to the documentary Where is Wendy Williams?, which will premiere on Lifetime Saturday, February 24 at 8pm. Wendy Williams, a former celebrity talk show host, was placed under a financial guardianship in 2022. Williams lives under the supervision of a court-appointed legal guardian who restricts her access to friends and family. “I frankly
Books for the Bird Brained
Kick off this year’s Great Backyard Bird Count in style! There’s something about the cool sun, bare trees, and ghost of snowfall on the forest floor that draws the heart to nature and the eye to our flying, feathered friends. True birders know that the winter season brings with it a wealth of opportunity for birdwatching in the forest, on the coast, or nestled in a cozy chair beside your bedroom window. From the Atlantic puffins of Maine to
And The Oscar Goes To… You!
The date is set. The nominations are in. The competition is steep. The season of the Oscar is upon us, and we’re celebrating by giving away five copies of Bruce Davis’s The Academy and the Award: The Coming of Age of Oscar and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. If you adore awards season as much as we do, you’ll love this behind the scenes look at the scrappy and scandalous adolescence that made the Academy the venerable
#SpeakUP: Diane Dimond on Guardianship Abuse
Journalist Diane Dimond’s We’re Here to Help: When Guardianship Goes Wrong, published by Brandeis University Press this fall, is a first-of-its kind investigation into the ill-understood and unregulated state-run guardianships affecting 1.5 to 2 million Americans today. For University Press Week 2023, we asked Diane Dimond how she speaks up for victims of guardianship abuse, and how we can, too. When did you first become interested in the subject of guardianship? I first heard about a case of
“UnCharitable” in Theaters!
“Everything You Know About Change… Is About to Change” Based on the bestselling book Uncharitable, by Dan Pallotta, “UnCharitable,” the movie, is a one of a kind inquiry into the canon of contemporary philanthropy. This new documentary, directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal, challenges the assumptions we make about giving and the existing limitations on our capacity to enact change. In “UnCharitable,” Pallotta paves the way for a philanthropy primed to tackle the most urgent social issues
The Beauty of the Hebrew Letter
Discover the artistry of the Hebrew aleph-bet with Izzy Pludwinski’s Latest Book! Izzy Pludwinski‘s The Beauty of the Hebrew Letter is not just a book – it’s a complete visual chronicle of the Hebrew aleph-bet’s transformation from its earliest appearance in ancient inscriptions to its contemporary representations. This book fills a noticeable gap in the field of calligraphy, a world where Latin, Chinese, and Arabic writing have been widely explored, but beautiful Hebrew writing remains relatively untouched. Expect to discover
Fishing You a Happy Father’s Day
Fire up the grill and turn on the game, Father’s Day is almost here! Still looking for gifts for the dads in your life? We’ve got you covered. Read on for a list of our best “dad books,” fit for history buffs, cinephiles, and fiction fiends alike. Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there, we couldn’t do it without you! View Books War and American Life:Reflections on Those Who Serve and SacrificeJames Wright “Jim Wright presents a
It’s a bird… It’s a plane… It’s a birder!
View Trailer Spring has melted slowly into summer and we can’t think of a better way to beat the than hunting for birds in the trees! From the lush Hudson Valley to the rolling hills of Maine, our birding books will guide you on a magical woodland journey, connecting you with the beauty of the wildlife around you. Take a break from work and escape to the wilderness. We promise you won’t regret it! Birdwatching in New York City and
A groundbreaking collection of Black women’s literary work
Kristin Waters’s and Carol B. Conaway’s landmark edited collection Black Women’s Intellectual Traditions: Speaking Their Minds offers sophisticated commentary on primary sources and their vital traditions. In fact, this volumes brings forth a powerful and interwoven legacy of activism based in social and political theories that helped shape the history of North America. Named the 2007 Winner of The Letitia Woods Brown Memorial Book Award for Best Anthology by the Association of Black Women Historians. Named to Blackfeminisms.com Fall 2017
Georgia O’Keeffe: To See Takes Time
This is without question the best book ever written on O’Keeffe, and an invaluable resource not only for scholars but for the general public. It is accurate, insightful, and beautifully written. The New Yorker To See Takes Time, and we hope you’ll take the time to view the historic works in MoMA’s new retrospective Georgia O‘Keeffe: To See Takes Time. You can read more about Georgia O‘Keeffe‘s life and influence in Roxana Robinson’s “Georgia O‘Keeffe: A Life.” Roxana Robinson is
INTERVIEW: JOY LADIN, THE SOUL OF THE STRANGER FOR GEEKSOUT
Joy Ladin, author of The Soul of the Stranger: Reading God and Torah From a Transgender Perspective, sat down with Michele Kirichanskaya of GeeksOut to speak about her writing, career, and relationship to Judaism as a member of the LGBTQ community. Speaking with Kirichanskaya, Ladin called The Soul of the Stranger “a book of intimate theology that grew out of a lifetime of thinking about and talking with God.” She continued: “I wanted the book to demonstrate that, contrary to
Mary’s little lamb gets a makeover in The Lamb Cycle
In The Lamb Cycle, David Ewbank achieves the unthinkable—he writes so convincingly in the style of the great English poets
When Freedom Speaks, your guide to the First Amendment
Greenky’s background gives her a unique perspective upon which to teach and write about the protection we have from laws that abridge our right to the freedom of speech.
An intimate conversation with forty women across the world
“Reading Ellen Warner’s The Second Half is like having one of those intimate conversations with each of 40 women from around the world as they share their formative experiences and advice for younger generations.
A new documentary brings Dan Pallotta’s Uncharitable to life
Uncharitable goes where no other book on the nonprofit sector has dared to tread. This Spring, the bestselling “nonprofit sector manifesto” (The Stanford Social Innovation Review) is leaping from page to screen in a landmark documentary directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal and featuring Chris Anderson