UNP, JPS Announce Collaboration

LINCOLN, Neb., Sept. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The University of Nebraska Press will soon begin handling the publication, distribution and marketing of books released by The Jewish Publication Society.

The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska approved purchase of JPS inventory during a Sept. 9 meeting. The JPS Board of Trustees approved the collaborative agreement Sept. 13.  The Jewish Publication Society, widely known as JPS, publishes Jewish books of enduring worth, including the Jewish Bible (TANAKH).

University of Nebraska Press Director Donna Shear said the agreement was a good fit for both publishers.  

"The University of Nebraska Press has a long history of publishing works of outstanding Jewish scholarship," she said. "To join with such a prestigious publisher of Jewish books will further distinguish the University of Nebraska Press in the field of Jewish studies."

University of Nebraska Press titles have won numerous National Jewish Book Awards, most recently in 2009 for The Holocaust in the Soviet Union, by Yitzhak Arad. Additionally, the University of Nebraska Press is the publisher of many works of Jewish fiction, memoir and other trade titles.

The agreement will become effective Jan. 1, 2012. JPS CEO Rabbi Barry Schwartz will continue to acquire new JPS titles, while the University of Nebraska Press will handle production of those titles, as well as warehousing and distribution of the JPS backlist.  

About The Jewish Publication Society:  Founded in 1888, The Jewish Publication Society is the preeminent publisher of classic and contemporary Jewish texts for readers of English worldwide. The current list includes nearly 300 scholarly and popular works of history, philosophy, ethics, and theology. JPS is best known for its acclaimed Bible commentary, and the most widely read English translation of the Hebrew Bible, the JPS TANAKH. For more information, visit www.jps.org.

About the University of Nebraska Press: Founded in 1941, the University of Nebraska Press is a nonprofit scholarly and general interest press that publishes 160 new and reprint titles annually under the Nebraska and Bison Books imprints respectively, along with 20 journals. The University of Nebraska Press is best known for publishing works in Indigenous studies, history and literature of the American West, translated literature, and sports history. For more information, visit www.nebraskapress.unl.edu.

SOURCE University of Nebraska Press