In celebration of the 90th anniversary of UNC Press, we asked Director John Sherer to compile a selection of books every North Carolinian should read. Click through for more information.

The Scotch-Irish: A Social History
by James G. Leyburn
397 pp., 6.125 x 9.25
ISBN 978-0-8078-4259-1 $23.00 paper
Publication date: August 30, 1989
For more information: http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/T-1238.html

Graveyard of the Atlantic: Shipwrecks of the North Carolina Coast
by David Stick
287 pp., 6.125 x 9.25
ISBN 978-0-8078-4261-4 $20.95 paper
Publication date: June 14, 1952
For more information: http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/T-1332.html

Hugh Morton, North Carolina Photographer
by Hugh Morton
Foreward by William Friday 
168 pp., 142 color and 20 b&w photographs
ISBN 978-0-8078-3073-4 $35.95 cloth
Publication date: October 12, 2006
For more information: http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/T-8287.html

Encyclopedia of North Carolina
Edited by William S. Powell
Jay Mazzocchi, Associate Editor 
1328 pp., 373 illus., 4 tables, 22 maps, index
ISBN 978-0-8078-3071-0 $75.00 cloth
Publication date: November 20, 2006
For more information: http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/T-6125.html

Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue
by John Shelton Reed and Dale Volberg Reed
With William McKinney 
328 pp., 260 illus., 61 sidebars, 2-color throughout, index
ISBN 978-0-8078-3243-1 $33.00 cloth
Publication date: November 1, 2008
For more information: http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/T-8418.html

Cherokee Heritage Trails Guidebook
by Barbara R. Ducan and Brett H. Riggs 
384 pp., 131 color photos, 11 maps, bibl., index
ISBN 978-0-8078-5457-0 $20.95 paper
Publication date: April 14, 2003
For more information: http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/T-5825.html

North Carolina Through Four Centuries
by William S. Powell 
670 pp.,  128 illus.
ISBN 978-0-8078-1846-6 $50.95 cloth; ISBN 978-0-8078-1850-3 $41.95 paper
Publication date: August 1, 1989
For more information: http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/T-651.html

North Carolina Architecture
by Catherine W. Bishir
Photography by Tim Buchman 
532 pp., 490 duotones, 18 color plates, 65 line drawings
ISBN 978-0-8078-1923-4 $100.95 cloth
Publication date: November 1, 1990
For more information: http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/T-805.html

Wild Flowers of North Carolina
by William S. Justice, C. Ritchie Bell, and Anne H. Lindsey 
376 pp., 553 color and 6 b&w illus., 6 tables, 1 chart, appends., bibl., index
ISBN 978-0-8078-2933-2 $35.95 cloth; ISBN 978-0-8078-5597-3 $23.00 paper
Publication date: May 30, 2005
For more information: http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/T-7662.html

Turners and Burners: The Folk Potters of North Carolina
by Charles G. Zug III 
473 pp.,  20 color plates, 266 b&w
ISBN 978-0-8078-4276-8 $56.95 paper
Publication date: February 1, 1990
For more information: http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/T-1433.html

Birds of the Carolinas
by Eloise F. Potter, James F. Parnell, Robert P. Teulings, and Ricky Davis 
416 pp., 381 color photos, 1 drawing, 1 map, bibl., index
ISBN 978-0-8078-2999-8 $39.95 cloth; ISBN 978-0-8078-5671-0 $28.95 paper
Publication date: April 17, 2006
For more information: http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/T-7681.html

Hatteras Blues: A Story from the Edge of America
by Tom Carlson
256 pp., 40 illus., 2 maps, bibl.
ISBN 978-0-8078-2975-2 $36.00 cloth; ISBN 978-0-8078-7122-5 $18.00 paper
Publication date: March 1, 2010
For more information: http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/T-7781.html

The Paradox of Tar Heel Politics: The Personalities, Elections, and Events That Shaped Modern North Carolina
by Rob Christensen
376 pp., 24 illus., appends., notes, index
ISBN 978-0-8078-7151-5 $21.00 paper
Publication date: October 4, 2010
For more information: http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/10160.html

North Carolina Beaches
by Glenn Morris

352 pp., 31 illus., 29 charts, 42 maps, 1 fig., appends., index
ISBN 978-0-8078-5618-5 $24.00 paper
Publication date: June 30, 2005
For more information: http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/T-7744.html

The Great Dismal: A Carolinian’s Swamp Memoir
by Bland Simpson
With a new epilogue by the author
208 pp., 39 illus., 2 maps, index
ISBN 978-0-8078-4752-7 $20.95 paper
Publication date: March 16, 1990
For more information: http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/T-755.html

The North Carolina Gazetteer, 2nd Ed: A Dictionary of Tar Heel Places and Their History
by William S. Powell and Michael Hill
608 pp., 101 maps
ISBN 978-0-8078-3399-5 $73.50 cloth; ISBN 978-0-8078-7138-6 $26.00 paper
Publication date: June 15, 2010
For more information: http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/T-8668.html

About John Sherer

Photo courtesy of Rick Schwab

John Sherer, currently vice president and publisher of Basic Books, has been named the seventh director of the University of North Carolina Press.

Sherer, 45, succeeds Kate Douglas Torrey, who retires on June 30 after 23 years at the publishing house. She has served as its director since 1992.

The announcement was made today by Jack (John P.) Evans, chair of the Press’s Board of Governors and Hettleman Professor of Business Emeritus at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, following a national search and approval by the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina on the recommendation of UNC President Thomas W. Ross.

“John Sherer’s publishing experience, commitment to the mission of UNC Press, and experience with the digital transformation occurring in publishing create a wonderful combination,” said Evans. “We are all excited about the leadership that he will bring to the Press.”

Sherer took over the publisher role of the Basic Books Group in 2006, with responsibility for managing all aspects of the nonfiction publishing house’s operations, including editorial, marketing, publicity, and design. Sherer previously held marketing positions in New York and Washington, D.C. at Basic Books, Brookings Institution Press, and Henry Holt.

Under Sherer’s leadership, Basic Books has won numerous awards, including the Bancroft Prize, the LA Times Prize, the Anisfield-Wolf Award, the Samuel Eliot Morison Prize, and the Albert J. Beveridge Award. He has published best sellers by Zbigniew Brzezinski, Timothy Snyder, Diane Ravitch, Chris Hedges, Thomas Sowell, Eduardo Galeano, Jeremy Scahill, and Sen. Bernie Sanders.

He is an adjunct professor at the NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies and is active on the Association of American Publishers Trade Executive Committee.

Sherer has a longstanding connection with the University and UNC Press. He is a 1988 graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill with a B.A. in international relations. Sherer’s publishing career began at UNC Press, where he held the position of assistant sales manager from 1989 to 1991.

Since 2011, Sherer has continued his association with UNC Press as a member of its Advancement Council.

“UNC Press is one of the most respected publishing programs in the country–not simply among university presses, but among all publishers,” said Sherer. “The quality of its current program combined with a legacy whose influence is hard to overstate should make the people of the state of North Carolina extremely proud.

“It is my honor to continue the work of Kate Torrey, whom I’ve admired for more than two decades, and to join with the talented staff of the Press and its significant support system within the University of North Carolina community. Amidst the rapid changes occurring in publishing today, the mission of UNC Press is more vital than ever, and I look forward to participating in the next chapter of its illustrious history.”

Sherer’s appointment is effective July 30. The Spangler Family Directorship is a newly endowed position created in honor of UNC President Emeritus C.D. Spangler Jr., his wife Meredith, and his daughters Anna and Abigail through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Leslie M. Baker Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Mark R. Bernstein, Mr. and Mrs. Frank A. Daniels Jr., The Dickson Foundation, Mr. Edward H. Hardison, Mr. and Mrs. Barnes Hauptfuhrer, Mr. Richard H. Jenrette, Ms. Betty P. Kenan, Mr. Thomas S. Kenan III, Mr. and Mrs. Hugh L. McColl Jr., Mr. and Mrs. John G. Medlin Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Julian H. Robertson Jr., Miss Wyndham Robertson, Mr. and Mrs. Russell M. Robinson II, and Mr. Allen Torrey and Ms. Kate Douglas Torrey.

Previous Press directors and their terms of office are Louis Round Wilson (1922-32), William T. Couch (1932-45), Thomas J. Wilson (1946-47), Lambert Davis (1948-70), and Matthew Hodgson (1970-92).

Founded in 1922, UNC Press is the oldest university press in the South and one of the oldest in the United States.