Invitation:

The editors of Home Lands of the Mountain West invites contributors to the new series described below.

Contact Max Perry Mueller (max.mueller@unl.edu) for pitches and ideas.

Description

Home Lands of the Mountain West offers authoritative introductions to cherished places in the Mountain West—the region spanning eight U.S. western states bookmarked by the Canadian and Mexican boundaries. Published by the University of Utah Press, this series aims to reach general readers, educators, students, and scholars seeking accessible yet substantive explorations of the region’s landscapes, cultures, histories, and contemporary issues.

By evoking home and lands as organizing concepts, authors of this series examine the long histories and contested claims to particular places. Employing their disciplinary methodologies, they blend scholarly insight, narrative clarity and, where appropriate, personal reflection. Each book is an intellectual guidebook written to deepen readers’ experiences visiting or living in specific places—valleys, cities, rivers, land designations—by informing, inspiring, and correcting misconceptions about a region too often overlooked or misrepresented in broader discussions of the United States and the American West.

Rationale and Relevance

The Mountain West is often defined by absence: perceived as too dry, too empty, too remote, too inaccessible. But this characterization belies the region’s ecological richness, historical depth, and cultural diversity. From Indigenous homelands and early trade routes to the Mormon corridor, extractive industries, military installations, and modern ecological crises, this region plays a central role in the broader story of the United States.

Given the University of Utah’s location in Salt Lake City—the region’s historical and cultural hub—the Press is uniquely positioned to lead this series. As other presses have successfully created regional series (e.g., Discover the Great Plains by the University of Nebraska Press), Home Lands of the Mountain West fills a notable gap by providing accessible works that connect academic insight with regional identity and pressing contemporary issues.

Editorial Scope

Books in the series will:

• Be concise (approximately 40,000–60,000 words)
• Be authored by recognized experts or practitioners in the field
• Use engaging, jargon-free prose suitable for educated general readers
• Draw on personal knowledge and experience when relevant
• Include photographs, maps, or illustrations when appropriate

Topics may span environmental science, Indigenous history, migration, urban growth, energy policy, politics, national parks, religion, art, and more.

Audience

• General readers interested in the American West
• Residents of the Intermountain West
• Undergraduate and graduate students
• Regional educators and policy advocates
• Museums, libraries, and tourism organizations