Ghosts of New York, previously celebrated as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, has been named a finalist for the $50,000 Gotham Book Prize for best book set in New York. Congrats to author Jim Lewis!

Mark Powell’s “dark, moody, and mesmerizing” novel Lioness receives a starred review in Foreword Reviews: “Powerful and layered, this is a tour de force.”

Another Appalachia earns a spot on the “Most Anticipated LGBTQ+” list from LGBTQ Reads, gets a mention in Book Riot‘s “22 Great New Books to Read in 2022,” and is called a “sweet, smart memoir” at the Moundsville blog. Neema Avashia will launch her book this spring at events with Porter Square Books, Malaprop’s, White Whale Bookstore, Taylor Books, and more.

A review of Kate Daniels’s Slow Fuse of the Possible from Chapter 16/Humanities Tennessee runs in Nashville Scene and the Chattanooga Times Free Press, where it’s called “a fascinating book” that “offers a new way to think about poetry.” Daniels will appear alongside Major Jackson in a virtual event with New York’s McNally-Jackson Bookstore on February 22.

Deesha Philyaw and The Secret Lives of Church Ladies continue to attract attention—in the New Yorker (where the book is an answer in the crossword puzzle!), on the Today Show online, and in Bustle. Philyaw’s appearance as part of the roundtable “The Future of University Presses” airs on C-SPAN, and her book is revealed as 2021’s second-bestselling title at White Whale Bookstore.

Pittsburgh Magazine reviews Geoffrey Hilsabeck’s American Vaudeville, calling it “a fever dream of jugglers, dancers, comedians, Shakespeareans, acrobats and songsters.”

Thomas Tobin and Chavella Pittman, both authors of books in our teaching and learning series, collaborate on the Chronicle of Higher Education essay “Academe Has a Lot to Learn About How Inclusive Teaching Affects Instructors.”

In other news from our higher education series:

• Michelle Miller, author of Remembering and Forgetting in the Age of Technology, appears on the Tea for Teaching podcast;
• The Thriving in Academe project from the National Education Association features Cyndi Kernahan, author of Teaching about Race and Racism in the College Classroom; and
• Think UDL talks with Derek Bruff about his book Intentional Tech.

Law Library Journal praises Nicholas Stump’s Remaking Appalachia as “a must-read for anyone concerned about our reliance on unsustainable energy sources and environmentally damaging practices.”

In New Hampshire, the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript profiles Paul Jenkins, author of Bluegrass Ambassadors.

And finally, thanks for the kind words about WVU Press from both the university’s student newspaper (“I am glad that WVU recognizes the importance and power of positive Appalachian stories”), and also Meg Reid of Hub City Press (“West Virginia University Press is having an absolutely momentous impact right now”). We’re grateful for the recognition, and inspired by the work that our colleagues in journalism and publishing continue to do every day!