The University of North Carolina Press (UNC Press), founded in 1922, is a nonprofit university press associated with the University of North Carolina. It was the first university press founded in the Southern United States. UNC Press is a member of the Association of University Presses, with its office located in Chapel Hill.
History
UNC Press began its publishing history in 1925 with Southern Pioneers in Social Interpretation, edited by sociologist Howard W. Odum, one of the press's founders. The volume featured essays on both Black and white Southern figures, including Booker T. Washington and Woodrow Wilson, and aimed to present the South as a region with cultural and intellectual contributions. The collection received national attention and was described by The New Republic as signaling a "quickening breeze from the South." This publication helped establish UNC Press's long-term mission to highlight diverse voices and subjects related to the Southern experience.
In 2006, UNC Press started the distribution company Longleaf Services as an affiliate.