This year we launched the inaugural UNC Press Readers’ Choice Award, a new tradition celebrating the books that have captured readers’ hearts and minds. This award gives readers a chance to help us honor the titles that made the biggest impact this year—books that sparked conversations, earned acclaim, and connected deeply with audiences. Learn more about how the award works and see the winner below.
How it worked:
- First Round Voting: Eight outstanding titles will compete for your votes from now through November 21st.
- Final Round Voting: The top two finalists move forward for final voting from November 24–28.
- Winner Announcement: We’ll reveal the winner on December 1, marking the close of an incredible publishing year!
How were nominees chosen?
Books published between November 2024 and November 2025 will be reviewed for the 2025 UNC Press Readers’ Choice Award. Nominees are selected through a comprehensive evaluation of sales and marketing performance. This includes factors such as copies sold, customer reviews, star ratings, awards, and other key indicators of reader engagement and impact.
Your voice matters—help us make history in this inaugural year! Cast your vote and join us in celebrating the power of great ideas and storytelling.
Congratulations to the Winner!
We’re so excited to announce the first-ever winner of the UNC Press Readers’ Choice Award! After two rounds of voting you choose With Faith in God and Heart and Mind as the winner.
by Maurice J. Hobson, Eddie R. Cole, Jim C. Harper, Derrick P. Alridge
With Faith in God and Heart and Mind
Maurice J. Hobson, Eddie R. Cole, Jim C. Harper, Derrick P. Alridge
When Edgar A. Love, Oscar J. Cooper, Frank Coleman, and Ernest Everett Just founded the historically Black fraternity Omega Psi Phi on November 17, 1911, at Howard University, they could not have known...
Meet the finalists
These titles came out on top after the first two round of voting.
by Maurice J. Hobson, Eddie R. Cole, Jim C. Harper, Derrick P. Alridge
With Faith in God and Heart and Mind
Maurice J. Hobson, Eddie R. Cole, Jim C. Harper, Derrick P. Alridge
When Edgar A. Love, Oscar J. Cooper, Frank Coleman, and Ernest Everett Just founded the historically Black fraternity Omega Psi Phi on November 17, 1911, at Howard University, they could not have known...
by Georgann Eubanks
The Fabulous Ordinary
Georgann Eubanks
Georgann Eubanks offers readers a tour of the seasonal joys of ecosystems in the Southeast. The ordinary destinations and events she explores are scattered across seven states and include such wonders...
Meet the nominees
by Maria Pinto
Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless
Maria Pinto
Naturalist, forager, and educator Maria Pinto offers a stunning debut book that uncovers strange and beautiful fungal connections between the natural and human worlds. She mingles reportage, research,...
by Maurice J. Hobson, Eddie R. Cole, Jim C. Harper, Derrick P. Alridge
With Faith in God and Heart and Mind
Maurice J. Hobson, Eddie R. Cole, Jim C. Harper, Derrick P. Alridge
When Edgar A. Love, Oscar J. Cooper, Frank Coleman, and Ernest Everett Just founded the historically Black fraternity Omega Psi Phi on November 17, 1911, at Howard University, they could not have known...
by A. Wilson Greene
A Campaign of Giants--The Battle for Petersburg
A. Wilson Greene
Grinding, bloody, and ultimately decisive, the Petersburg Campaign was the Civil War’s longest and among its most complex. A Campaign of Giants: The Battle for Petersburg offers a gripping, comprehensive...
by Amy Erdman Farrell
Intrepid Girls
Amy Erdman Farrell
When eight-year-old Amy Erdman Farrell moved with her family to Akron, Ohio, in 1972, she found herself adrift in a sea of taunting boys and mean girls. Shy by nature, she dreaded her long, unhappy...
by Kristina R. Gaddy, Rhiannon Giddens
Go Back and Fetch It
Kristina R. Gaddy, Rhiannon Giddens
For the first time, this groundbreaking songbook collaboration by music writer Kristina R. Gaddy and Grammy Award winner Rhiannon Giddens makes nineteen examples of early Black Atlantic music accessible...
by Eddie Huffman
Doc Watson
Eddie Huffman
Arthel “Doc” Watson (1923–2012) is arguably one of the most influential musicians Appalachia has ever produced. A musician’s musician, Doc grew up on a subsistence farm in the North Carolina...
by Georgann Eubanks
The Fabulous Ordinary
Georgann Eubanks
Georgann Eubanks offers readers a tour of the seasonal joys of ecosystems in the Southeast. The ordinary destinations and events she explores are scattered across seven states and include such wonders...
by Nathan Kalman-Lamb, Derek Silva
The End of College Football
Nathan Kalman-Lamb, Derek Silva
In this book, Nathan Kalman-Lamb and Derek Silva offer an existential challenge to one of America’s favorite pastimes: college football. Drawing on twenty-five in-depth interviews with former players...
