Ahhh . . . summer. Picnics, gardens, fireflies—and of course, summer reading!

In this issue of The Callout, our summer harvest includes the first comprehensive history of the Ozarks region; a pair of magnificent volumes on the influential Italian architect Pier Luigi Nervi; and a provocative exploration of ugliness as central to queer female sexuality. New titles in science fiction studies offer the familiar (Arthur C. Clarke) and the little known (international science fiction writers); while our “Behind the Book” feature illuminates a sweeping new book on black opera. We also highlight a roundup of new and recent biographies in the Music in American Life series, ranging from Harry Burleigh to Libby Larson to Uncle Dave Macon. New additions to our journals program in Mormon studies and a new Common Threads title round out the offerings.

Meanwhile, our centennial celebrations continue apace. To mark the June 2 anniversary of the Board of Trustees’ approval of the founding of the University of Illinois Press, we cohosted a birthday party at the Illini Union with Document Services—formerly Printing Services, which was twinned with the Press from its 1918 founding into the early 1970s.

At UI Press, we strive to foster ground-breaking scholarship, innovate in the scholarly publishing community, and empower local and global readers to understand and engage with the changing world. If you’d like to support our mission, consider becoming a founding member of our Friends of the Press program by joining before the end of 2018.

Come in to our garden and enjoy the bounty! And look for us at the Urbana Market in the
Square, where we’ll be staffing a table every Saturday in July.

–Laurie Matheson, Director

Check out the rest of the issue here!