Indiana University Press blog

Celebrate National Library Week!

National Library Week begins today! This year's theme is "Communities matter @ your library." I've been thinking a lot about this theme in light of our recent move to the Wells Library. Everyone here has welcomed us into their community and has been very helpful in getting us acclimated (and showing us all the secret shortcuts and staircases in the buidling!).

I've learned that it's the nature of libraries to be accepting of all kinds of communities. I see it every day with the gathering of students, faculty, staff, and the general public in our space. It's a place to get books, to meet, to study, to do research, to take a class, to get IT assistance, or to grab a bite to eat (my favorite amenity). The library is a great place to be, and I'm happy to call it our new home. So wherever you live, I hope you'll stop by your local library this week and enjoy all the services they provide!

To learn more about National Library Week, visit the American Library Association website, or watch this PSA featuring Caroline Kennedy:

Richard Lugar to give lecture at IU + book giveaway

Former U.S. senator and newly appointed IU faculty member Richard Lugar will give the Patrick O'Meara International Lecture February 18 on the IU Bloomington campus. His talk, which is free and open to the public, begins at 4 p.m. in the Indiana Memorial Union Whittenberger Auditorium.

More information about Lugar and his political career can be found in our book Richard G. Lugar, Statesman of the Senate. To celebrate Lugar's lecture and recent appointment to the IU faculty, we're giving away two free copies of his biography, autographed by author John T. Shaw!

To enter the contest, send an email to winiupress@gmail.com with your name and mailing address. Entries will be accepted through February 18 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. Winners will be notified by email and books will ship via USPS.

Related articles

Ex-Sen. Lugar to give lecture at IU-Bloomington

Podcast: John T. Shaw discusses Richard Lugar

Lugar to join Ind. U. faculty, donate papers there

Videos: IU Press authors discuss writing at Indiana Authors Award events

Last fall, IUP authors Barbara Shoup (An American Tune) and Dan Wakefield (Going All the Way) were both recipients of the 2012 Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award. Shoup won the award in the Regional Author category while Wakefield received the first-ever Lifetime Achievement award. We recently came across these videos from Indiana Authors Award events held September 29 at the Central Library in Indianapolis. Here is Shoup's reaction to being named the Regional Author winner (and we thank her for all the nice things she said about working with us!):

In this clip from a panel discussion with the Indiana Author Awards winners, Shoup and National Author winner John Green discuss books that influenced their careers:

During the panel, Dan Wakefield discusses his writing career and his relationship with fellow Indiana author Kurt Vonnegut:

And finally, IUP authors Norbert Krapf (Songs in Sepia and Black and White) and Monika Herzig (David Baker) talk about their books at the Indy Author Fair, held before the award dinner.

More videos from the event are available on the Central Library's YouTube channel.

Don't miss Barry Gealt exhibit at the IU Art Museum

This month is your last chance to see the Barry Gealt: Embracing Nature exhibit at the IU Art Museum! The exhibit includes 32 landscape paintings representing nearly three decades of Gealt's work. Gealt was a professor in the IU Hope School of Fine Arts for almost 40 years, and he continues to paint and exhibit all over the world. Many of the paintings are being shown for this first time in Bloomington. The exhibit will be on display at the IU Art Museum until December 23. For more details, visit the IU Art Museum website.

You can learn more about Barry Gealt and his paintings in our new book Barry Gealt, Embracing Nature. Copies are also available at the Angles Cafe and Gift Shop, located on the second floor of the IU Art Museum.

IUP editor Linda Oblack to give talk on Break Away Books

IU Press sponsoring editor Linda Oblack will give a talk on our Break Away Books imprint this Friday, November 30 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. in the Bloomingtonfoods' Community Room (316 W. Sixth St., Bloomington, IN). This free event is part of the Lemonstone reading series presented by the Writers Guild at Bloomington.

About Break Away Books:

Focusing on fiction, memoirs, creative nonfiction, and poetry with a Midwest connection, this series places characters and/or action in the Midwest, yet has a universal reach as well, not of a region, but transcending region. The books connect the reader to the region via childhood memories, the land itself, defining moments in one's life that took place in the region, historical subjects or events.

Videos from panel discussion with IU women scholars now available

If you missed the Indiana University Women’s Contribution to Scholarship panel earlier this fall, we've now posted videos of the presentation on Vimeo. The panel, moderated by IU Press director Janet Rabinowitch, included Maria Bucur, Heidi Gealt, Estelle Jorgensen, Eileen Julien, Audrey McCluskey, and Suzanne Stetkevych. Laurie Burns McRobbie, First Lady of IU, introduced the panel with closing remarks by Provost Lauren Robel. Here is Part 1:

Watch Part 2 and Part 3

IU Press to host next Know Your Campus event

Just in time for University Press Week, IU Press will host the next Know Your Campus event November 8 from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. IU employees are invited to take a tour of the IU Press office, located at 601 N. Morton St. in the historic Showers Brothers Building. IU Press director Janet Rabinowitch will also be on hand to discuss publishing and the rich history of the Press. All attendees will receive a free copy of This Is INDIANA, plus an additional book of their choice.

This free event is sponsored by the Bloomington Professional Council and open only to IU employees. Please RSVP to iubpc@indiana.edu by Friday, November 2 to reserve a spot.

Eileen Julien's "Ode to Writing"

At last week's panel with IU women scholars, Eileen Julien recited an ode about why she writes. She has graciously allowed us to share it on our blog.

Ode to Writing

Write to read
Write to learn
Write to question
Write to doubt
Write to discover
Write to unearth
Write to understand
Write to see
Write to soar

Write to describe
Write to distill
Write to explain
Write to tell
Write to affirm
Write to persuade
Write to inspire
Write to witness
Write to clarify
Write to challenge
Write to provoke
Write to share
Write to comfort

Write to remember
Write to feel
Write to confess
Write to cry
Write to let go
Write to laugh
Write to sing
Write to love
Write to grow
Write to dream
Write to live

Eileen Julien is Professor of Comparative Literature, African American and African Diaspora Studies, and French and Italian at Indiana University Bloomington. She is author of African Novels and the Question of Orality (IUP, 1992) and Travels with Mae (IUP, 2009).

Morton C. Bradley, Jr. exhibit to open at IU Northwest Gallery

Starting on October 1 until October 26, the IU Northwest Gallery, in partnership with the IU Art Museum, will present "Color and Form: Selected Works by Morton C. Bradley, Jr." Bradley bequeathed many mathmatical inspired sculptures to the IU Art Museum and Indiana University. Bradley is best known for his colorful and lively geometric sculptures. The IU Northwest Gallery for Contemporary Art is open to the public Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. and is located in the Savannah Center neighboring the IU Northwest Bookstore. You can learn more about the exhibit here.

To learn more about the life and work of Morton C. Bradley, Jr., check out Color and Form: The Geometric Sculptures of Morton C. Bradley, Jr. by Lynn Gamwell. 

Riley Festival celebrates "Hoosier Poet" James Whitcomb Riley

The Riley Festival, one of the largest craft fairs in Indiana, will take place in Greenfield, IN, October 4-7. It is held in honor of the "Hoosier Poet" James Whitcomb Riley, who was born in Greenfield, IN, on October 7, 1849. The festival will include food, commercial and flea market booths, plus fine arts, home arts/quilt, photography, poster, and decorated pumpkin shows. Check out the complete schedule of events here.

To learn more about James Whitcomb Riley, check out Elizabeth J. Van Allen's biography of him, or read one of his poetry collections: The Complete Poetical Works of James Whitcomb Riley, The Best of James Whitcomb Riley, and Riley Child-Rhymes with Hoosier Pictures.