UL Press

12/10/2025

Link in comments. New release - Philip Gould's latest collection of aerial photography! We seldom get a full sense of Louisiana’s landscape from the ground. The horizon can elude us, as foliage and structures often obstruct our view. From above though, the landscape opens up, revealing a broad sweep with remarkable depth. Louisiana from the Sky focuses on the world around us: landscapes, landmarks, and, from a distance, people. With clear eyes, the book also portrays the immense environmental challenges the state faces.

Since 1974, celebrated photographer Philip Gould has built a career capturing the Boot, primarily from ground-level. In this collection, he uses both a drone camera and high-winged aircraft to see Louisiana anew. Bolstered by essays from journalist and folklorist Ben Sandmel, Louisiana from the Sky offers a new vision of the Pelican State.

12/05/2025

Published in Music Reference Services Quarterly (Ahead of Print, 2025)

12/02/2025

New release! Link in comments. In French Without Borders, contributing authors tackle numerous compelling and imperative aspects of the practical/quotidienne nature of French in North American contexts, including French language education and pedagogy; law, public policy, and leadership; and immigration, tourism, and economics.

As the product of an interdisciplinary and transnational colloquium of scholars and researchers and their mutually supportive conversations, this book represents the interdependent nature of francophone studies and education. The social, economic, and cultural implications of this work are far reaching, in that they address broad consequences for public policy as well as highlight case studies of interest within specific regions of francophone North America, including the Caribbean. Furthermore, the specific francophone contexts in French Without Borders offer a degree of transferability due to the shared struggle for preserving, promoting, and sustaining French as a minority language.

This edited volume presents a distinct approach to la francophonie in North America, showcasing the voices of numerous stakeholders and their unique perspectives, insights, and knowledge within overlapping and adjacent fields.

12/02/2025

Now accepting nominations for this prestigious award!

The James William Rivers Prize in Louisiana Studies is among the most prestigious awards in Louisiana Studies. It was established to honor persons (or organizations) who have contributed or rendered, recently or over the course of their careers, outstanding scholarly study, work, or teaching about the culture, history, art, architecture, crafts, flora, fauna, music, literature, law, performing arts, or geography of Louisiana or about its people. The Rivers Prize, consisting of a cash award and other acknowledgments, was established with private funds donated in memory of Mr. Rivers, a New Orleans architect and graduate of USL (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette), who died in 1991.

Nominations will be accepted until December 31, 2025, and should be made by sending an email to [email protected], with the subject heading "Rivers Prize Nomination."

Nominations must include: (1) A nomination letter; (2) The nominee's CV; and (3) A brief narrative career overview.

Nominations will be reviewed by a committee made up of representatives from the UL Lafayette College of the Arts, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Center for Louisiana Studies.

Finalists not chosen to receive the prize will automatically be considered by the prize committee the following year.

12/01/2025

Louisiana From the Sky - available in person this week!

Welcome to Octavia Books, where our well-read staff is always happy to provide friendly assistance. Thank you for choosing to let Octavia Books serve you and be your independent bookstore.

11/26/2025

This Black Friday weekend, enjoy our biggest sale of the year! From 11/26 through 12/2, save 50% on selected UL Press titles. Follow the link in the comments to visit the sale collection.

11/25/2025

Tonight!

11/14/2025

Coming December 9th—pre-order now! Link in comments. Philip Gould's latest photo book, Louisiana from the Sky, shows the Bayou State's landscapes and landmarks from above, revealing our beautiful environment with remarkable depth. This book also features descriptive text by Ben Sandmel. Philip Gould - Photography
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Philip Gould is a cultural documentary and architecture photographer who has made Louisiana his home and favorite subject since 1974, when he moved to the Bayou State from California to work on the Daily Iberian as a photographer. Based in Lafayette, Gould has photographed throughout the state, the nation, Europe, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Louisiana from the Sky is his twentieth book.
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Author, musician, and folklorist Ben Sandmel travels Louisiana documenting traditional music, produces the musicians’ interview stage at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and was the drummer/producer on the Grammy-nominated album Deep Water by the historic Cajun band the Hackberry Ramblers. Sandmel wrote the books Zydeco! and Ernie K-Doe: The R&B Emperor of New Orleans. His articles appear in academic anthologies and such magazines as The Atlantic and The Wall Street Journal. In 2021, Sandmel received a master’s degree in musicology from Tulane University.

11/14/2025

Come see us at the Lafayette Farmers and Artisans Market this season to see our new releases and pick up books for the whole family!

11/13/2025

Save the date! Join the fun at the book launch party for A Place for Pelicans: The Incredible Story of Queen Bess Island. Gayle Webre, author of When I Was an Alligator, and When I Was a Pelican, has another exciting book project, this time for middle grades and science lovers of all ages.
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Discover the amazing story of a tiny island that was nearly destroyed but then completely restored. Bring your creativity and enjoy some tasty treats. Enter for a chance to win a Wild Republic plush brown pelican! Listen to John Miguez talk about his stunning wildlife photography and hear Julie Rabalais tell stories about her rescue center, For the Birds of Acadiana.
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This event is at the UL Press Bookshop, in the historic J. Arthur Roy House.

11/01/2025

UL Press student worker — sad clown Mia — wishes you a happy Halloween!