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Posts published in “Latest News”

Five Questions with Chad Zimmerman, Executive Editor for Economics

By Carrie Adams on March 26, 2020

Chad Zimmerman recently joined the Press as executive editor in the Books Division, acquiring new titles in economics, business, and public policy. Chad came to us from Oxford University Press, where he worked most recently as a senior editor building a robust list in public health, including books in health economics and policy. We’ve been excited to welcome him not only to the Press but to Chicago, and by way of introduction, we put together some questions about his interests. What are you looking for in a book, and what kind of project gets you excited? Voice. That is a terribly nonspecific answer, but hear me out: Most people who write books are experts in what they’re writing about. Whether their book is any good depends on how they express (and in many cases, limit) their knowledge for the good of the reader. That expression takes the form of their writing voice. And writing voice comprises not just narration, but also how the work is structured.    Reading is a “what’s in it for me?” activity. It is the author’s job to respect their reader and meet them on their level, whether that’s expert or non-expert. Very few authors have the […]

The post Five Questions with Chad Zimmerman, Executive Editor for Economics appeared first on The Chicago Blog.

“Stay At Home” Couples Counseling During A Crisis

By Chicago Public Media on March 26, 2020

The Coronavirus crisis means that couples who live together are now doing just about everything together. Chicago-area couples counselors give their advice on making prolonged isolation with a partner work.

Host: Mary Dixon
Reporter: Patrick Smith

Some Strategies To Address Your Mental Health During A Pandemic

By Chicago Public Media on March 25, 2020

COVID 19 is presenting lots of questions, but few answers. That’s fueled by fear, stress and anxiety…for all of us. Some strategies can help address our mental health during this time.

Host: Mary Dixon
Reporter: Carrie Shepherd

Five Questions with D. Vance Smith, author of “The Arts of Dying”

By PublicityTeam on March 23, 2020

How do we talk about one of life’s most persistently hard to describe events: death? Poets, musicians, playwrights, philosophers, theologians, and artists have tried to describe death for centuries, but this question still puzzles us today. With his new book, The Arts of Dying: Literature and Finitude in Medieval England, D. Vance Smith goes back to consider the ways that medieval people thought and wrote about death. We talked with Vance about the book, how people in the Middle Ages thought about dying, the problems of language when it comes to death, and how ideas about death and dying are presented now. He also touches on the particular relevance of these questions today as we face the tragedy of the coronavirus pandemic. How do you come to this subject? Was there a particular piece of literature that sparked your interest? I wrote a book a while ago (The Book of the Incipit) about the many ways medieval people thought about beginnings and shaped them in literature, and I started thinking about endings and what Foucault called the “analytic of finitude” then. Dying is the ultimate ending, and I found the intellectual and emotional challenge of writing about it important, but […]

The post Five Questions with D. Vance Smith, author of “The Arts of Dying” appeared first on The Chicago Blog.

Chicago Distribution Center Temporarily Closed

By Carrie Adams on March 21, 2020

In response to the Illinois Stay-at-Home Order and with the greatest concern for the health and welfare of our staff and the greater community, we have decided to temporarily close the Chicago Distribution Center (CDC) effective Monday, March 23. The CDC will be remained closed for the duration that the Stay at Home order is in effect, until April 7 or longer if required.  Though print book orders for our titles are delayed, all e-books published by the University of Chicago Press are available and on sale at 30% off using code EBOOK30 at checkout through our website.  In the last two weeks, many members of the Press staff have worked to ensure that parts of our business can continue unimpeded in case of a shutdown, including increased use of print-on-demand resources and increased availability of e-books. We are also considering relationships with other suppliers that would allow a portion of orders to be filled if they cannot be filled at the CDC. We will continue to work on all of these efforts.  Meanwhile, we recognize that this has been a challenging time for many in the publishing industry, including our partners at many booksellers around the country. You can still continue to order our books and those of our distributed client publishers directly from many independent bookstores through their websites and indiebound.org as well as through […]

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Coronavirus Takes A New Turn In Chicago Over The Weekend

By Chicago Public Media on March 9, 2020

Chicago announced two additional cases of coronavirus over the weekend. One involves a school employee who had been traveling. In the other case, it is unknown how the victim contracted the virus.

Host: Lisa Labuz
Reporter: Sarah Karp