University of Utah Press

Will Moore - Arizona Histories, American Stories
2026-04-22 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Phoenix) | Online
Join the Arizona Historical Society and Will Moore for an installment of Arizona Histories, American Stories series celebrating Arizona’s role in 250 years of American history.
The Southwest is home to some of the earliest and most interesting of the National Park Service national monuments. These sites–preserved for their scientific and historic value–include cliff dwellings, Spanish missions, petroglyphs, giant cactus, and natural bridges. Beginning early in the last century, one man–Frank Pinkley–was superintendent for the entire system of thirty Southwestern national monuments.
Please register ahead of time as this event will be held over Zoom.
Since his retirement from the Arizona Education Association several years ago, Will Moore has served as a winter volunteer at Tonto National Monument. His volunteer experience has led to research into national park history, resulting in articles in the Journal of Arizona History, and presentations at Tempe’s Arizona Heritage Center, the Bullion Plaza Museum, and the Arizona History Convention. His recent book, Southwestern National Monuments: Frank Pinkley and the Rise of the National Park System, was published by the University of Utah Press in August 2025. Moore and his wife Jonelle have lived in Mesa for over thirty years.

Steve Kemp – Fact & Fiction Bookstore, Missoula, MT
2026-04-23 | Fact & Fiction Bookstore, 220 N Higgins Ave, Missoula, MT, 59802, United States
More information will be included at a later date.

Steve Kemp - Bright Side Bookshop, Flagstaff, AZ
2026-04-26 18:00 - 19:30 (America/Denver) | Bright Side Bookshop, 18 N. San Francisco Street, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001, United States
Join us in conversation with author Steve Kemp, celebrating his book An Exaltation of Parks. The event will begin at 6:00 PM. Books will be available for purchase. This is a free event.
About The Book
Uncovering the partnership that saved America’s natural treasures
America’s national parks are facing unprecedented challenges. With visitation pressures mounting and the National Park Service struggling to keep up, author and former park ranger Steve Kemp looks toward one exceptionally effective historical example of conservation philanthropy and park building–the collaboration between John D. Rockefeller Jr. and NPS legends Stephen Mather, Horace Albright, and Arno Cammerer.
An Exaltation of Parks reveals the inspiring story of this collaboration, showing how the partnership transformed some of America’s most cherished national parks, including Acadia, Grand Teton, Great Smoky Mountains, Yellowstone, and Yosemite. It recounts Rockefeller’s lifelong dedication to conservation, digging into his own pockets and toiling as a volunteer to achieve his goals for converting private land into public use. Bringing to life the history and significance of America’s most magnificent landscapes, this volume is both a tribute to past conservation victories and a call to action for the future, emphasizing the need for continued vigilance to preserve these national treasures for generations to come.
About The Author:
Author Steve Kemp has spent most of his adult life working in national parks, from cook at a park concession in the Grand Tetons to a seasonal ranger in Yellowstone and Denali to publications director for nonprofit park education partner Great Smoky Mountains Association (now SmokiesLife). A graduate of the University of Montana’s writing program, Kemp has written for magazines including National Parks, Outside, Outdoor Life, and Smokies Life Journal, and is the author of Trees of the Smokies, Great Smoky Mountains Simply Beautiful, The Blue Ridge Parkway: In Celebration of the American Landscape (forthcoming) and the children’s book, We’re Going to the Mountains.

Society for American Archaeology 91st Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA
2026-04-29 - 2026-05-03 | Hilton San Francisco Union Square, 333 O'Farrell Street, San Francisco, CA, 94102, United States
The 91st Annual Meeting will be composed of general sessions, symposium, forums, debates, lightning rounds, posters, and workshops. The SAA Annual Meeting is the largest gathering of archaeologists of the Americas.
The meeting has a wide audience that ranges from anyone who has interest in archaeology to experts in the field. Attendees come from all over the United States and from over 45 countries.

Author Event: Jody Olsen
2026-06-02 13:00 - 14:00 (America/Denver) | Tall Tales Book Shop, 2105 Lavista Rd, Atlanta, GA, 30329
Author Jody Olsen will be visiting with her book A Million Miles: My Peace Corps Journey

Mormon History Association 2026 Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV
2026-06-04 - 2026-06-07 | Tuscany Suites and Casino, 255 E Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV, 89169, United States
The Mormon History Association’s 2026 annual conference, “Mirages and Specters,” invites participants to Las Vegas, Nevada, June 4–7, to explore the shifting boundaries between permanence and transience in the Mormon past.

Evening with the Author - Thomas Murphy - Unsettling Scripture
2026-06-09 17:30 - 19:30 (America/Denver) | Benchmark Books, 3269 S Main St, Ste 250, South Salt Lake, Utah, 84115
We are pleased to announce that Thomas Murphy will be here to speak about Unsettling Scripture: Iroquois and the Book of Mormon (published by the University of Utah Press) on Tuesday, June 9. He will be here from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., will speak at 6:00, and answer questions and sign books before and after that time.

A groundbreaking exploration of the unexpected intersections between Haudenosaunee oral tradition and Latter-day Saint scripture.

In Unsettling Scripture: Iroquois and the Book of Mormon, anthropologist Thomas W Murphy delves into the visions of Seneca prophet Handsome Lake, the epic narratives of the Iroquois Confederacy, and the origin story of the Book of Mormon, revealing surprising parallels between Indigenous and Mormon traditions.

Through ethnohistorical research and decolonizing methodologies, Murphy reexamines how both communities understand their origins, faith, and prophecy. From Handsome Lake’s revelations to Joseph Smith’s seer stone, from ancient sibling rivalries to the Great Peace, this book unsettles traditional narratives while opening new conversations on scripture, identity, and cultural exchange. Drawing from living Indigenous voices, Unsettling Scripture challenges readers to rethink sacred texts and the histories they tell.

Steve Kemp - Pints for a Purpose, Bar Harbor, ME
2026-07-31 | Terramor Outdoor Resort, 1453 ME-102, Bar Harbor, ME, 04609, United States
Please check back for more information.

Lonesome Landscapes: BLM Natural Conservation Lands in New Mexico
2026-12-15 17:30 - 19:00 (America/Denver) | Santa Fe Public LIbrary, 145 Washington Ave, Santa Fe, NM, 87501, United States
Event Details

Award-winning author and editor Andrew Gulliford will discuss his recent book Lonesome Landscapes: Stories from National Conservation Lands (University of Utah Press, 2026) and look at conservation case studies with a specific emphasis on New Mexico.
This is the first book on the Bureau of Land Management’s system of National Conservation Lands, now 26 years old, which covers 37 million acres of Congressionally designated national monuments, national conservation areas, wild & scenic rivers, historic trails, and wilderness areas.
The Fort Lewis College professor will compare the BLM’s NCL system to the National Park Service. He will offer examples with photos from Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, Fort Stanton Cave and the Snowy River, Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, the Chama River, the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Areas, and Prehistoric Trackways National Monument.
A Q&A and book sale follows.
