You can’t open Facebook these days without seeing a profile picture superimposed with a French flag. A year ago, profile pictures had multicolored hues in support of equal marriage rights or gay marriage. At various times of year, social media profiles sport pink for breast cancer, mustaches for prostate cancer, or various other regular designs to demonstrate solidarity or sympathy with this or that cause. Invariably, there are columns that comment or complain about a particular practice, the uncritical and uncomplicated adoption of potentially fraught symbols, and the deleterious effects of “slacktivism.” Most worry that a changed profile picture will…

While The Digital Press at the University of North Dakota does not conform to the characteristics of most “real” university presses, I think it’s probably fair that we celebrate a little at the margins of the event. To get into the spirit of the week, be sure to check out the American Association of University Press’s blog tour with particular attention to Tuesday’s posts on the Future of Academic Publishing. Anyone who has read my other blog over the past couple years knows I’m incredibly sanguine about the future of academic publishing. Like many of the folks at university presses or…

The Digital Press at the University of North Dakota is very excited to announce the publication of The University of North Dakota and the Great War in collaboration with North Dakota Quarterly.  This is the first volume in a series designed to repackage and reprint content from the North Dakota Quarterly archives.  Here’s the press release: On Veterans Day this year, it is natural that we reflect on the 100th anniversary of World War I. In recognition of this, North Dakota Quarterly and The Digital Press at the University of North Dakota have published a reprint of nine historically significant…

Mark your calendars! Next Friday, October 23, at 7 pm at the North Dakota Museum of Arts is an amazing opportunity to hear nine poets read their poetry in celebration of Heidi Czerwiec’s new collection of poetry titled: North Dakota Is Everywhere and published by our good friends at the Institute for Regional Studies Press at North Dakota State University. You might notice that there are only 8 poets listed on the flyer. That’s because Debra Marquart is a last minute addition to the program. She’ll only add to what will certainly be a remarkable evening. The readings is graciously…

Melissa Gjellstad and Danielle Skjelver chat about their work translating K. J. Skarstein’s War with the Sioux on Prairie Public Radio’s Main Street yesterday. The buzz around this book is growing!  Check it out here. And download or buy your copy of the book here.

Some nice media coverage for the Melissa Gjellstad’s and Danielle Skjelver’s recent transition of K. J. Skarstein’s the War with the Sioux from the Pierce County Tribune this week. Also be sure to catch them next week on Prairie Public Radio’s Main Street! Here’s the link.  And here’s a snippet: Danielle Skjelver, a UND alumna and history instructor, said she found the book in 2007 while perusing Norwegian books. “At the time, my Norwegian was such that I had to do the heavy lifting of translation for any meaningful comprehension. So I figured if I’m going to translate it for…

I’m beginning to play around with laying out a group of articles from North Dakota Quarterly on World War I. I’m committed to using Doves Type for all sorts of reasons ranging from the peaceful name to the vintage feel and the story, of course, of its rediscovery.   At the same time, I’m trying figure out how best to lay out the page. Doves lacks italics or bolds, so everything has to be done with the text itself (and, say, small caps). I like that as a challenge and find that it is a fairly easy limit to overcome….

It’s a good day! The English translation of Karl Jakob Skarstein’s The War with the Sioux is finally published. Go here for the links to download the book. The Digital Press at the University of North Dakota is excited to announce the publication of the first English translation of Karl Jakob Skarstein’s The War with the Sioux: Norwegians against Indians 1862-1863. Associate Professor of Norwegian Melissa Gjellstad and UND alumna Danielle Mead Skjelver translated the text and Dr. Richard Rothaus and Dakota Goodhouse provided new introductory material. Skjelver noted that “”I first encountered Skarstein’s riveting narrative on the US-Dakota War…

The day is almost here for the publication of the first English translation of Karl Jakob Skarstein’s The War with the Sioux: Norwegians against Indians 1862-1863. The book was originally published in Norwegian and draws extensively on a group of untapped, 19th-century sources written by Norwegian immigrants to the Northern Plains. These sources offer new perspectives on the Dakota Wars which have attracted renewed attention since the recent, 150th anniversary commemorations.  Melissa Gjellstad and Danielle Skjelver have preserved Skarstein’s lively narrative and along with Richard Rothaus and Dakota Goodhouse have added a series of new historical essay to introduce the…

We are very pleased to announce that The Digital Press has received a small grant designed to advance our search for unconventional funding which ranges from corporate partnerships to non-governmental grants. Support from the University of North Dakota Alumni Association and Foundation will augment our efforts to produce an innovative and sustainable model for academic and scholarly publication. Our work under this grant will focus on funding opportunities to support our partnership with North Dakota Quarterly as well as high-quality digital publications on topics related to local communities and the state of North Dakota. The impact of this grant, however, will…