University of Massachusetts Press will launch a new imprint, Bright Leaf: Books that Illuminate.
Focused on subjects related to New England and written for a general audience, the books will range in topic from the region’s culinary traditions to its landmarks and pastimes. The imprint will publish 4-5 titles per year.
“We have been publishing books with a strong regional focus for many years," UMass Press senior editor Brian Halley said in a statement. "Bright Leaf will allow us to connect actively with a wider readership.”
The imprint will publish its first book, House Stories: The Meanings of Home in a New England Town, by Beth Luey, in September. Further inaugural year titles include Bricklayer Bill: The Untold Story of the Workingman’s Boston Marathon, in October, by Parick L. Kennedy and Lawrence W. Kennedy, and Concrete Changes: Architecture, Politics, and the Design of Boston City Hall, by Brian M. Sirman, in March 2018.
“We believe Bright Leaf will serve New Englanders and tourists with books that deepen their understanding of what makes this region wonderful,” the director of UMass Press, Mary Dougherty, said in a statement. She added: “Bright Leaf evokes the famous foliage of the region, and suggests the illuminated and illuminating pages of a book.”
