Ohio University Press & Swallow Press

06/18/2026

⚽ World Cup watchers are looking out for this 🇨🇩 DR Congo superfan, who attends games posing as a statue of slain leader Patrice Lumumba:
https://www.wsj.com/sports/soccer/world-cup-congo-mboladinga-lumumba-8a719d1c?st=LRXiSk&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink (gift link)

📖 Learn more about Lumumba in Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja's bio, part of our Ohio Short Histories of Africa series: https://www.ohioswallow.com/9780821421253/patrice-lumumba/

MNG - University Presses

A Congolese man’s motionless presence is seen as so critical to the team’s success that the president intervened to get him to the U.S.

06/18/2026

We're excited to announce the release of six new books thanks to support from Ohio University's Alden Library:

The Muridiyya on the Move: Islam, Migration, and Place-Making
Cheikh Anta Babou
https://ohioopen.library.ohio.edu/oupress/116/

Threatening Others: Nicarauguans and the Formation of National Identities in Costa Rica
Carlos Sandoval-Garcia
https://ohioopen.library.ohio.edu/oupress/117/

Authentically African: Arts and the Transnational Politics of Congolese Culture
Sarah Van Beurden
https://ohioopen.library.ohio.edu/oupress/118/

Under the Heel of the Dragon : Islam, Racism, Crime, and the Uighur in China
Blaine Kaltman
https://ohioopen.library.ohio.edu/oupress/119/

Burma’s Mass Lay Meditation Movement : Buddhism and the Cultural Construction of Power
Ingrit Jordt
https://ohioopen.library.ohio.edu/oupress/120/

Witchcraft Dialogues : Anthropological and Philosophical Exchanges
George Clement Bond and Diane M. Ciekawy
https://ohioopen.library.ohio.edu/oupress/121/

Check out our full list of free, open access books at https://www.ohioswallow.com/open-access/

06/17/2026

Congratulations to Rachel Sandwell (Cornell University), winner of the Joel Gregory Prize for the best book in African studies from the Canadian Ass'n of African Studies / Ass'n canadienne des études africaines! "National Liberation and the Political Life of Exile: S*x, Gender, and Nation in the Struggle Against Apartheid" is part of our New African Histories series. Learn more: https://www.ohioswallow.com/9780821426661/national-liberation-and-the-political-life-of-exile/ and get 20% off with promo code WEB

06/16/2026

Fifty years ago today, a teenager from Johannesburg's Soweto Township led an uprising against a mandate enforcing Afrikaans as the language of instruction in their schools—a policy that symbolized apartheid's broader systemic oppression. Led by Tsietsi Mashinini, their protest ignited a nationwide movement that would forever change South Africa and deeply affect countless families, including Tsietsi’s own. We’re honored to share this powerful excerpt from "A Burning Hunger," which reflects on that day and its enduring legacy of resistance, sacrifice, and youth activism.
🔗 Read more: https://lithub.com/resistance-against-apartheid-started-young/

For further context, please also see THE SOWETO UPRISING, by Noor Nieftagodien: https://www.ohioswallow.com/9780821421543/the-soweto-uprising/

Get 30% off each of these titles with promo code SOWETO at https://www.ohioswallow.com/

(On June 16, 1976, the youth of Soweto, Johannesburg’s massive Black township, rose up to protest a new rule making Afrikaans the language of instruction in their schools—a language that most did n…

06/11/2026

Traveler's Guide to Ancient Ohio is a must-have guidebook for exploring Ohio's Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, now established UNESCO World Heritage sites. Listen to author John Hancock on WOUB Public Media: https://woub.org/2026/06/10/new-guidebook-invites-travelers-to-explore-ohios-ancient-earthworks/

Pick up your copy—get 20% off w/ promo code WEB: https://www.ohioswallow.com/9780821426920/travelers-guide-to-ancient-ohio/

Featuring the Hopewell Ceremonial EarthworksTraveler’s Guide to Ancient Ohio is a compact, richly illustrated, and in-depth travel guide to the Indigenous ...

06/09/2026

Our literary imprint, Swallow Press, is the premier US publisher of books by Anaïs Nin, so we're excited to share news of this fantastic, upcoming event:

COME SPY WITH US — An online, seven-week salon reading A Spy in the House of Love — June 29–August 30

Come Spy With Us will be hosted by The Anaïs Nin Foundation in collaboration with The Feminine Prose—follow and on Instagram for further information. More details are forthcoming and we'll share them here, but look forward to "Weekly deep dives. Photo contests. Prizes from Nin's personal library. Your contributions to the discussion – and more."

SPECIAL OFFER
We're offering 20% off A Spy in the House of Love on our website now through August 10. Enter promo code NIN in the shopping cart to activate the discount: https://www.ohioswallow.com/9780804011488/a-spy-in-the-house-of-love/

06/05/2026

We're honored that Ric S. Sheffield's FALSE PROMISES is among these stellar Ohio Book Award finalists. Congratulations to all.

Learn more about False Promises: The Struggle for Black Voting Rights in 1800s Ohio — https://www.ohioswallow.com/9780804012577/false-promises/

The Ohioana Library is pleased to announce the finalists for the 85th annual Ohio Book Awards. First given in 1942, the awards are the second oldest state literary prizes in the nation and honor outstanding works by Ohio authors and illustrators in six categories: Fiction, Poetry, Juvenile Literature, Middle Grade Literature, Young Adult Literature, and Nonfiction. The seventh category, Book About Ohio or an Ohioan, may include books by non-Ohio authors.

Nearly every major writer from Ohio in the past 80 years has been honored, including James Thurber, Robert McCloskey, Toni Morrison, Mary Oliver, Rita Dove, Hanif Abdurraqib, Anthony Doerr, Celeste Ng, Edmund White, Virginia Hamilton, and many more.

Seven of the Ohio Book Award winners, as well as the Marvin Grant recipient, are selected by juries. The Readers’ Choice Award is determined by voters in a public online poll. Over 3,500 votes were cast for 2025's Readers’ Choice Award.

This year's finalists include literary superstars as well as debut authors. Our finalists come from all over the state and include native Ohioans and lifelong residents, as well as writers who no longer live here, but whose time in Ohio continues to be a deep influence on their writing and careers.

See the full list and learn more here: https://www.ohioana.org/programs/ohio-book-awards/

06/02/2026

Our SUMMER READING SALE ends Thursday!

Get 40% off with promo code SUN
Free US shipping on orders $35+

All books and all formats are on sale, including hardcovers, paperbacks, and ebooks for general adult readers, children, students, and scholars.

Shop https://www.ohioswallow.com/ and stock up now. Sale ends June 4.

Need ideas? Check out these new releases:

Art and Activism: Jazz Artists and Writers in the Civil Rights Vanguard / Jack Marchbanks / https://www.ohioswallow.com/9780821426876/art-and-activism/

Traveler's Guide to Ancient Ohio / John E. Hancock
https://www.ohioswallow.com/9780821426920/travelers-guide-to-ancient-ohio/

Rescue Me: An Andy Hayes Mystery / Andrew Welsh-Huggins
https://www.ohioswallow.com/9780804012621/rescue-me/

Persevered: A Maternal Mental Health Memoir / Kara Zivin
https://www.ohioswallow.com/9780804012645/persevered/

06/01/2026

TOMORROW NIGHT IN COLUMBUS: Join Andrew Welsh-Huggins in conversation with NV Gay at Storyline Bookshop in Upper Arlington, where they'll talk about the new Andy Hayes Mystery, RESCUE ME! 🏳️‍🌈
https://www.storylinebookshop.com/events/storyline-presents-book-launch-signing-with-andrew-welsh-huggins

05/26/2026

Ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising, we've reissued A BURNING HUNGER by Lynda Schuster. In a recent op-ed, Schuster cautions against current “attempts to flip South African history on its head,” and underscores the importance of honoring apartheid's true victims. This is the story of the Mashinini family, whose legacy of resistance changed a nation. https://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/guest-columns/2026/05/01/apartheid-south-africa-mandela-afrikaaner-trump-lynda-schuster/stories/202605010001

Get 40% off the book w/ promo code SUN through June 4: https://www.ohioswallow.com/9780821416525/a-burning-hunger/

With the impending 50th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising, South Africa’s biggest rebellion against apartheid, it is important to remember who the...