W. Hodding Carter III (1935–2023) was a fierce advocate for justice and accountability who served as a civil rights journalist in Mississippi, a State Department spokesman during the Iran hostage crisis, a diplomat, a soldier, and a professor. He finished his career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a devoted supporter of UNC Press and its mission.
The W. Hodding Carter III Books imprint honors that legacy by publishing trade books that illuminate America’s past and present and reckon with its role in the world. It is the second endowed trade imprint at UNC Press, and a reflection of Carter’s lifelong conviction that good writing and rigorous thinking are essential to democratic life.
The imprint launched with Gautham Rao’s White Power, followed this fall by Rachel Shelden’s The Political Supreme Court. Coming in Spring 2027 will be Carla Cevasco’s book on the history of feeding children in America.
Andrew Kinney, William Hodding Carter III Executive Editor
Help us bring these books to more readers by supporting the W. Hodding Carter III Books imprint—make a gift and select “W. Hodding Carter III Editor and Fund” from the dropdown.
