Events to Be Held in New York; Washington, DC; Boston; Chicago; Atlanta; the UK and more
Looking to be inspired? This November, the Association of University Presses invites readers everywhere to attend one of the many thought-provoking events taking place during University Press Week, Nov. 9 to 13, where authors of books published by university presses will share their expertise with the world.
Events during the week will feature authors speaking about everything from memoirs and collections of poetry to books about politics, history, the environment, and more. Many events will be hosted by prominent independent bookstores, including in Politics & Prose in Washington, D.C.; White Whale Bookstore in Pittsburgh; Bookhaus in Bristol, UK; and more, while others will be held on-line.
Some of the week’s events will feature books that are relevant to current events, such as Data Are Made, Not Found: A Story of Politics, Power, and the Civil Servants Who Saved the U.S. Census. Author Darah Boyd will discuss this eye-opening story of the people who make the census and the growing threats to their crucial work. Because the census data determines how political power and federal funding are allocated, Boyd argues that protecting democracy means protecting the people and institutions that produce this data. She’ll be speaking about her book on Nov. 9 at the University of Illinois Chicago, as part of a larger book tour.
Other events will highlight prominent poets, including Jim Whiteside, author of the poetry collection, Another Man (University of Wisconsin Press), who will be speaking at P&T Knitwear in New York, and Emmy Perez, Texas Poet Laureate and author of Paper america: New and Selected Poems (Texas Christian University Press), who will be speaking at the Texas Book Festival in Austin.
In fact, university presses are frequently recognized for excellence in poetry; two of the finalists for the 2026 National Book Award in poetry, announced earlier this month, are published by university presses: Still House in the Desert: An eco-contemplation by Brenda Hillman (Wesleyan University Press) and Bramble (University of Chicago Press), by Susan Stewart.
Stewart will be speaking at a virtual event hosted by Point Reyes Books on Nov. 9 along with Jake Rose, whose book JOAN (University of Chicago Press) was long listed for the 2026 National Book Award.
“Taken together, all of the UP Week events exemplify the kinds of books that are often published by university presses—insightful, research-driven and creative works that shed new light on our world and challenge us to think about things in new ways,” says AUPresses president Stephanie Williams, director of Wayne State University Press.
“Whether you are interested in poetry, memoirs, or nonfiction books about the most pressing issues of the day, you can be sure that you will be able to find a university press book that will inform your curiosity,” Williams says. “And attending an event, whether in person or online, that features a university press author is a wonderful way to expand your mind.”
To see the most up-to-date list of University Press Week events, click here. Here’s a sampling: (Please check with the venues for additional details. Some in-person events listed below will also be available online.)
SATURDAY, NOV. 7
- Washington, DC
Gerald Steinacher, author of The Pope Against Nuremberg: How the Vatican Helped Nazis Escape Postwar Justice (New York University Press), in conversationwith Richard Breitman
Politics & Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC
SUNDAY, NOV. 8
- New York, NY
Jim Whiteside, author of the poetry collection, Another Man (University of Wisconsin Press), in conversation with Dan Kraines
P&T Knitwear, 180 Orchard St., New York, NY
- Washington, DC
Mary Morton, author of Cassatt Reconsidered (Yale University Press)
Politics & Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC
MONDAY, NOV. 9
- Bristol, UK
Dave Haslam, author of Creative Journeys: Intimate Conversations with Artists, Actors, Writers and Musicians(Manchester University Press)
Bookhaus, 4 Rope Walk, Bristol, UK
- Chicago, IL
Danah Boyd, author of Data Are Made, Not Found: A Story of Politics, Power, and the Civil Servants Who Saved the U.S. Census (University of Chicago Press)University of Illinois Chicago, UIC Isadore and Sadie Dorin Forum, 725 W. Roosevelt Road, Chicago
- Virtual
Susan Stewart, National Book Award finalist for Bramble (University of Chicago Press), and Jake Rose, National Book Award long list for JOAN (University of Chicago Press), in conversation with Srikanth Reddy
Hosted by Point Reyes Books
- Virtual
Roger Berkowitz, author of A World We Share: Hannah Arendt and the Power of Friendship in a Broken World (Yale University Press), in conversation with Erica Robles
Hosted by InterIntellect
TUESDAY, NOV. 10
- Cambridge, MA
David Weinberger, author of Beautiful Particulars: How AI’s Attention to the Smallest of Differences Is Reshaping Our Biggest Ideas (MIT Press)
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA - Decatur, GA
Jon Boorstin, author of The American: The Hidden History of Daniel J. Boorstin and His Twentieth Century (University of Georgia Press)
Decatur Center for the Book, 215 Sycamore St., Decatur, GA - Missoula, MT
Ken Egan Jr., author of Irish Born, American Made: The Life and Myth of Captain John Egan (University of Wisconsin Press)
Fact & Fiction Books, 220 N. Higgins Ave., Missoula, MT - Virtual
Jonny Diamond, editor of American Occupation: Dispatches from Minnesota’s Resistance to ICE
(University of Minnesota Press)
Hosted by Haymarket Books
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 11
- Chapel Hill, NC
Katherine Turk, one of the contributors to The Foundations of American Democracy (University of North Carolina Press), speaking about the Equal Rights Amendment
Flyleaf Books, 752 M.L.K. Jr. Blvd., Chapel Hill, NC
- St. Paul, MN
David Mura, author of Exit, Miss Saigon: An American Memoir(University of Minnesota Press)
University Club of St. Paul, 420 Summit Ave., St. Paul, MN
Hosted by SubText Bookstore - Virtual
Stevie Ruiz, author of Stewards of the Land: Race and Reclaiming Environmental Labor in the American West (University of North Carolina Press), in conversation with Jessica Kim
Hosted by the University of Southern California
THURSDAY, NOV. 12
- Cleveland, OH
Wendy Wimmer, author of The Doomscroller’s Companion (University of Wisconsin Press), in conversation with Dan Chaon
Loganberry Books, 13015 Larchmere Blvd., Cleveland, OH - Galveston, TX
Scot McFarlane, author of The River That Made Texas: A Forgotten History of the Trinity (University of North Carolina Press)Galveston Historic Seaport, Pier 22, Suite 8, Galveston, TX
FRIDAY, NOV. 13
- Cambridge, MA
Rachel Lipson, author of The New American Frontier: Job Training for the Next Technological Age (Harvard Education Press)
Harvard University, Gutman Library, 6 Appian Way, Cambridge, MA - Manchester, UK
Neil Storey, author of The Island Book of Records: 1971-1972 (Manchester University Press)
Louder Than Words Festival, Innside Manchester, 1 First St., Manchester, UK - Pittsburgh, PA
Anna D. Jaroszyńska-Kirchmann, author of Pierogi: An American Story of Polish Food (Columbia University Press), in conversation with Andrew Moore
White Whale Bookstore, 4754 Liberty Ave., Pittsburgh, PA
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
- Austin, TX
Emmy Perez, a Texas Poet Laureate and author of Paper america: New and Selected Poems (Texas Christian University Press)
At the Texas Book Festival, Texas State Capitol, 1100 Congress Ave., Austin, TX
The Association of University Presses also celebrates University Press Week, now in its 15th year, by releasing a list of university press publications and projects that embody the year’s theme. This year’s reading list features 98 publications and projects that embody the theme of Power UP, amplifying authors’ voices to fuel conversations and inform the current moment. See the complete list here.