The Backwaters Press
Founded in 1997, the Backwaters Press has worked to produce award-winning books by some of America’s finest authors. The University of Nebraska Press acquired Backwaters in 2018, adding an impressive backlist in poetry and prose that contributes to the cultural landscape of our state and region. As a general interest imprint of UNP, Backwaters continues to build on roots planted firmly in the Great Plains, delighting readers with literature of enduring value and consequence.
The Backwaters Prize, an international poetry book competition, was initiated in 1998 and continues under the auspices of UNP. Contest winners are chosen by distinguished American poets; past judges include Hayden Carruth (National Book Award, National Book Circle Critics Award), Philip Levine (National Book Award, two Pulitzer Prizes), and Ted Kooser (Poet Laureate of the United States, Pulitzer Prize winner).
Visit the Backwaters Prize page for more information and for an electronic submission link.
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From the UNP Blog
Excerpt: Narrative Complexity
The following is an excerpt from Narrative Complexity: Cognition, Embodiment, Evolution (August 2019), edited by Marina Grishakova and Maria Poulaki, new in the Frontiers of Narrative series. Introduction A recent large-scale international study has shown that different societies tend eventually to evolve toward com [...]
Excerpt: Three Seconds in Munich
The following is an excerpt from Three Seconds in Munich: The Controversial 1972 Olympic Basketball Final by David A. F. Sweet (September 2019). More than seven thousand athletes from 121 countries gathered at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. Though in theory the games were apolitical, they were a great marketing coup for the ho [...]